By Victor Omondi Benjamin Banneker, a black scientist, is well famed for a land survey that constituted the original borders of Washington, D.C. Banneker, born in 1731, also came up with something new in the field of cicadas. The naturalist’s first time to observe the cicadas was in the 1740s at his homeland in Maryland. […]
A Black Scientist Was An Early Cicada Researcher. His Work Has Been Mostly Overlooked
at 1:23 pm NPR
Benjamin Banneker â a free Black man born in 1731 â is best known for a land survey that established the original borders of Washington, D.C. But the naturalist also broke ground in another field: cicada research.
Banneker first observed the cicadas at his Maryland home as a teenager in 1740s. He spent the next 50 years documenting their unique life cycles â the bugs come out of the ground for only a few weeks every 17 years. His observations were among the earliest known to be documented.
An adult cicada is seen on May 6, 2021.
Benjamin Banneker – a free Black man born in 1731 – is best known for a land survey that established the original borders of Washington, D.C. But the naturalist also broke ground in another field: cicada research.
Banneker first observed the cicadas at his Maryland home as a teenager in 1740s. He spent the next 50 years documenting their unique life cycles the bugs come out of the ground for only a few weeks every 17 years. His observations were among the earliest known to be documented.
Janet Barber and her husband, Asamoah Nkwanta, researched his handwritten notes from 1800 on the insects. Barber is an independent researcher and Nkwanta is with Morgan State University in Baltimore.
A Black Scientist Was An Early Cicada Researcher. His Work Has Been Mostly Overlooked
By Nina Kravinsky
May 11, 2021
Benjamin Banneker – a free Black man born in 1731 – is best known for a land survey that established the original borders of Washington, D.C. But the naturalist also broke ground in another field: cicada research.
Banneker first observed the cicadas at his Maryland home as a teenager in 1740s. He spent the next 50 years documenting their unique life cycles the bugs come out of the ground for only a few weeks every 17 years. His observations were among the earliest known to be documented.
Maryland s Benjamin Banneker was perhaps the first scientist to document cicadas And he tried to kill all of them baltimoresun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from baltimoresun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.