[Arpege92]

What did he invent?

[ClearCase_guy]

"Benjamin Banneker was a self-educated scientist, astronomer, inventor, writer, and antislavery publicist. Banneker built a striking clock entirely from wood, published a Farmers' Almanac, and actively campaigned against slavery."

Google is your friend. Having said that, I will admit that Banneker's most significant achievements were not inventions. He had many scientific achievements and is a very fine role model.

[mhking]

What did he invent?

Benjamin Banneker was a free black man in the late 1700's and early 1800's in Maryland. As a mathemetician and surveyer, he was the first to map out and survey the Washington, DC area. His almanac, "Benjamin Banneker's Almanac," was published during the 1790's and was popular in Maryland, Virginia and points westward, into Kentucky.

If I recall correctly, he spent most of his life in and around Ellicot City, MD, near Baltimore.