Latrobe, John H.B., 1803-1891 Memoir of Benjamin Banneker read before the Maryland Historical Society, at the monthly meeting, May 1, 1845
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06111 Author/Creator: Latrobe, John H.B., 1803-1891 Place Written: Baltimore, Maryland Type: Pamphlet Date: 1845 Pagination: 1 v. : 16 p. : 23 x 14.3 cm. Order a Copy
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."
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