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The exceptional life of Benjamin Banneker - Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua

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Born in 1731 to freed slaves on a farm in Baltimore, Benjamin Banneker was obsessed with math and science. And his appetite for knowledge only grew as he taught himself astronomy, mathematics, engineering, and the study of the natural world. Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua details the numerous accomplishments of Benjamin Banneker.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

Interested in learning more about Benjamin Banneker and his life? Visit PBS and reads excerpts from his almanac, a summary of his letters to Thomas Jefferson, and Jefferson’s response to him. The National Archives of the United States has a transcript of Banneker’s actual letter to Thomas Jefferson here. Here is a link to the Library of Congress that displays Jefferson’s letter in response to Banneker. Here are more resources about Banneker that include actual photos of Banneker’s Almanac.

Retrobituaries: Benjamin Banneker, the African-American Mathematician Who May Have Saved Washington, D.C. has some links to awesome resources about Banneker and discusses the impact he had on our country’s history.

For more information on Banneker’s Almanac, and his place in the history of the United States, visit this Library of Congress site.


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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua
  • Director Jun Zee Myers
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Composer Ian Smith
  • Sound Designer Howard Sinden
  • Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
  • Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
  • Narrator Pen-Pen Chen

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