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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC06111 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to 1845 |
| Title | Memoir of Benjamin Banneker read before the Maryland Historical Society, at the monthly meeting, May 1, 1845 |
| Date | 1845 |
| Author | Latrobe, John Hazlehurst Boneval (1803-1891) |
| Document Type | Pamphlet |
| Content Description | First edition published by John D. Toy. Honors Banneker, a free African American scientist/astronomer from Maryland who created of a series of famous almanacs. Compares Banneker to David Rittenhouse, a noted Pennsylvania astronomer and inventor. Latrobe mentions that Maryland is the only State that has created a plan for how to deal with rising concerns about African-Americans: they have chosen to appropriate money to establish a colony of freemen in Africa. Also adds that the case of Banneker is interesting in light of discussions about the comparative native intellect of blacks and whites. Includes a printed letter from Thomas Jefferson to Banneker. In this letter, Jefferson thanks Banneker for an almanac he sent, and states "Nobody wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren talents equal to those of the other colours of men, and that the appearance of a want of them is owing only to the degraded condition of their existence both in Africa and America." |
| Subjects | African American History Science and Technology Colonization Africa Slavery President |
| People | Banneker, Benjamin (1731-1806) Latrobe, John Hazlehurst Boneval (1803-1891) Condorcet, Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de (1743-1794) Rittenhouse, David (1732-1796) Toy, John D. (fl. 1822-1845) Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) |
| Place written | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Theme | African Americans; Science, Technology, Invention; The Presidency |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | A written exchange between Banneker and Thomas Jefferson was published as a separate pamphlet and given wide publicity at the time Banneker's first almanac was published. Jefferson forwarded Banneker's correspondence to the Marquis de Condorcet, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences at Paris. Latrobe was a noted Maryland writer, lawyer and inventor. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |