Banneker Research Articles

Briefer Notices

BRIEFER NOTICES By Henry J. Cadbury Albert R. Schmitt has edited Des Melchior Adam Pastorius . . . Leben und Reisebeschreibungen . . .[und] lyrischen Gedichten (Munich, Delph'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1968), a volume made up of extracts from three of Pastorius' manuscripts, "Itinerarium" and "Prognosticon" at the University of Pennsylvania, and "Liber Intimissimus" at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Included among the travel accounts and poems of Melchior Pastorius (16241702 ) is a six-line Latin poem celebrating the birth of his son, Francis Daniel, on September 26, 1651 (O.S.), with an anagram of his name, and two Latin poems in honor of William Penn, "Princeps Pensylvaniae ." Also, fourteen of Francis Daniel Pastorius' poems have been printed in Seventeenth-Century American Poetry, ed. by Harrison T. Meserole (Garden City, N. Y., 1968). They are in English, taken from his manuscript commonplace book, called "The Beehive," at the University of Pennsylvania. * * * The Annual Report of the Library Company of Philadelphia usually contains some well-written research on Quaker items. The report for 1968 deals at length with the agreements and disagreements of the accounts of the Penn-Mead trial of 1670 written respectively by the Friends and by the judge, Mayor Starling. The acquisition by the Library of the day book and ledger of Samuel Emlen, Jr. (17301799 ) is noted. It covers the years 1751 to 1767, too early for his travels with Woolman (see Quaker History, LV [1966], 88-103). There is a useful list of over twenty-five books cited in Anthony Benezet's Some Historical Account of Guinea (Philadelphia, 1771). * * * In The NorthCarolina Historical Renew, XLVI, No. 1 (Jan., 1969), 19-32, is an article on "Charles A. Beard, the Quaker Spirit, and North Carolina," written by Peter A. Soderbergh, who thinks the influence of the Quaker spirit upon Beard has been overlooked in studies about him. * * * 56 Briefer Notices57 An account of the present day Quakers of Barcelona, Spain, by Roberto Saladrigas (with illustrations from Quaker history) is printed in Destino for September, 1968, pp. 24-27. It is entitled "Noticia de los Cuaqeros de Barcelona." * * * The black Quaker sea-captain, Paul Cuffe, of New Bedford, and the near-Quaker Negro astronomer Benjamin Banneker of Maryland are two of the six Pioneers and Patriots: The Lives of Six Negroes of the Revolutionary Era (N. Y., Doubleday, 1968), a juvenile. The editors are Lavinia Dobler and Edgar A. Toppin. * * * Fred B. Rogers contributed to the Journal ofthe History ofMedicine and Allied Sciences, XX (1965), 140-150, an article on "Shadrach Ricketson (1768-1839) : Quaker Hygienist." He was a resident of Dutchess County, New York. His medical experience was made available to the public through a substantial book he published in 1806 in New York entitled Means of Preserving Health and Preventing Diseases. * * * Crusadefor Freedom: Women ofthe Antislavery Movement (Boston, Beacon Press, 1968, 338 pages), by Alma Lutz is a very readable and well documented account. Not unexpectedly it includes frequent or extended reference to such Quakeresses as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Margaret Chandler, Prudence Crandall, the Grimké sisters, Lucretia Mott, and Abby Kelley (Foster). * * * "Salem, Indiana, Peace Society Minutes," edited by Pamela J. Bennett, contributed by I. George Blake, was published in Indiana Magazine of History, LXIV, No. 4 (Dec, 1968), 299-322. This was one of the first peace societies in this country, "stimulated mainly by Quakers." The minutes cover the years 1819-1826. * * * Because of the participation of the A.F.S.C., mention may be made here of an account of co-operative American German relief after the Second World War: Transfigured Night. The Cralog Experience, by Eileen Egand and Elizabeth Clark Reiss, Philadelphia and New York, Livingston Publishing Co., 1964. 58Quaker History Tales of Tórtola and the British Virgin Islands, by Florence Lewisohn (Box 946, Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., 1966, 96 pages) deals in its chapter on "The Friendly Persuasion" (pp. 39-50) with the Quakers as the earliest group of settlers and also with their role in connection with the abolition of slavery. A detailed architectural study of the Arch Street Meeting House, Philadelphia, from its building in 1803-1811 to 1968 has been prepared by Lee H. Nelson and Penelope Hartshorne Batcheler, restoration...

Historically Speaking,—: Benjamin Banneker, pioneer Negro mathematician

In almost every history of the Negro in the United States one can find an account of the incidental contributions of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) to the social history of his race. But no chronicle is readily available of the scientific life of Banneker as a student of mathematics, almanac compiler, surveyor, and astronomer.

Benjamin Banneker, the Negro Mathematician and Astronomer

Previous articleNext article FreeBenjamin Banneker, the Negro Mathematician and AstronomerHenry E. BakerHenry E. Baker Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 3, Number 2April 1918 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2713484 Views: 750 Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in The Journal of Negro History (1916-2001), which is continued by The Journal of African American History (2002-present). Copyright 1918, 1946, 1969 The Association for the Study of African American Life and HistoryPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Dorothy B. Porter Early American Negro Writings: A Bibliographical Study, The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 39, no.33 (Oct 2015): 192–268.https://doi.org/10.1086/pbsa.39.3.24298648