Name 1 or 2 contributions of the African American scientist Benjamin Banneker to America.?

Answer 1

At 21, Banneker saw a pocket watch that was owned by Andrew Ellicott. He was so amazed by it that Ellicott gave it to him. Banneker spent days taking it apart and reassembling it. From it Banneker then carved large-scale wooden replicas of each piece, calculating the gear assemblies himself, and used the parts to make a striking clock. The clock continued to work striking each hour for more than 50 years.

This event changed his life, and he became a watch and clockmaker. One customer was Joseph Ellicott, a Quaker surveyor, who needed an extremely accurate timepiece to make correct calculations of the locations of stars. Ellicott was so impressed with his work that he lent him books on mathematics and astronomy.

Banneker began his solo study of astronomy at age 58. He was able to make the calculations to predict solar and lunar eclipses and to compile an ephemeris for the Benjamin Banneker's Almanac, which an anti-slavery society published from 1792 through 1797. He became known as the Sable Astronomer.