Born in Maryland in 1731, Benjamin Banneker was an inventor, tinkerer, and intellectual. At age 58, Banneker began to study astronomy, and he was soon predicting solar and lunar eclipses. He published best-selling almanacs annually from 1792 through 1797. In 1791, Banneker served as a technical assistant in the first survey of Washington, D.C. Often referred to as the “Sable Astronomer,” he was regarded as proof that African Americans were not intellectually inferior to Europeans.