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Banneker, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Banneker, Benjamin, 1731–1806, African-American inventor, astronomer, and mathematician, b. Baltimore co., Md., at what is now Ellicott's Mills. A free black, Banneker was essentially self-taught. H...

Singleton, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Singleton, Benjamin, c. 1809–c. 1900, African-American leader of post–Civil War black resettlement in the West, b. Davidson co. (now coextensive with Nashville), Tenn. He escaped slavery in 1846, ...

Silliman, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Silliman, Benjamin, 1779–1864, American chemist, geologist, and physicist, b. Trumbull, Conn., grad. Yale, 1796. In 1802 he was appointed first professor of chemistry and natural history at Yale; he...

Stoddert, Benjamin

(Encyclopedia)Stoddert, Benjamin, 1751–1813, U.S. government official, b. Charles County, Md. Joining the Continental Army as a captain at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he attained the rank of major. A ...

Davis, Benjamin Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Davis, Benjamin Oliver, 1877–1970, American general, b. Washington, D.C. After studying (1897–98) at Howard Univ., Davis served as a lieutenant in the Spanish-American War and in 1899 enlisted in ...

Day, Benjamin Henry

(Encyclopedia)Day, Benjamin Henry, 1810–89, American journalist. He learned the printer's trade in the office of the Springfield (Mass.) Republican and opened a printing office in New York City. Lack of work duri...

Curtis, Benjamin Robbins

(Encyclopedia)Curtis, Benjamin Robbins, 1809–74, American jurist, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1851–57), b. Watertown, Mass. After studying law at Harvard, he practiced at Northfield, Mass., and...

Ewell, Benjamin Stoddert

(Encyclopedia)Ewell, Benjamin Stoddert yo͞oˈəl [key], 1810–94, American educator, b. Georgetown, D.C., grad. West Point, 1832; brother of Gen. R. S. Ewell. He taught mathematics at West Point, Hampden-Sidney C...

Haydon, Benjamin Robert

(Encyclopedia)Haydon, Benjamin Robert, 1786–1846, English historical painter and writer. A painter in the Grand Manner expounded by Reynolds, Haydon was also a popular teacher, writer, and lecturer. His lectures ...

Hooks, Benjamin Lawson

(Encyclopedia)Hooks, Benjamin Lawson, 1925–2010, African-American civil-rights leader, b. Memphis, Tenn. In 1972 President Nixon named Hooks, a lawyer, Baptist minister, and former Tennessee county criminal court...