Self-taught mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker {1731-1806} grew up on his family's farm in Maryland. He was one of the most accomplished African Americans of the colonial period. In 1753, he constructed the first wooden striking clock made in America. His studies and calculations in astronomy allowed him to predict a solar eclipse in 1789 and to publish annual farmers' almanacs in the 1790s. In 1791, Banneker helped design and survey the city of Washington, D.C.