“Errors that ought to be corrected in my Astronomical Tables are these:—­2d vol.  Leadbetter, p. 201, when [symbol] anomaly is 4^s 30 deg., the equation 3 deg. 30’ 41” ought to have been 3 deg. 28’ 41”.  In [symbol] equation, p. 155, the logarithm of his distance from [symbol] ought to have been 6 in the second place from the index, instead of 7, that is, from the time that his anomaly is 3^s 24 deg. until it is 4^s O deg..”

Both Ferguson and Leadbetter would have been amazed, had they been informed that their elaborate works had been reviewed and corrected by a negro in the then unheard-of valley of the Patapsco.

The first almanac prepared by Banneker for publication was for the year 1792.  By this time his acquirements had become generally known, and amongst those who were attracted by them was James McHenry, Esq.  Mr. McHenry wrote to Goddard and Angell, then the almanac-publishers of Baltimore, and procured the publication of this work, which contained, from the pen of Mr. McHenry, a brief notice of Banneker.  In their editorial notice Goddard and Angell say, “They feel gratified in the opportunity of presenting to the public through their press what must be considered as an extraordinary effort of genius,—­a complete and accurate Ephemeris for the year 1792, calculated by a sable son of Africa,” etc.  And they further say that “they flatter themselves that a philanthropic public, in this enlightened era, will be induced to give their patronage and support to this work, not only on account of its intrinsic merits, (it having met the approbation of several of the most distinguished astronomers of America, particularly the celebrated Mr. Rittenhouse,) but from similar motives to those which induced the editors to give this calculation the preference, the ardent desire of drawing modest merit from obscurity, and controverting the long-established illiberal prejudice against the blacks.”

Banneker was himself entirely conscious of the bearings of his case upon the position of his people; and though remarkable for an habitual modesty, he solemnly claimed that his works had earned respect for the African race.  In this spirit he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State under Washington, transmitting a manuscript copy of his almanac.  The letter is a fervent appeal for the down-trodden negro, and a protest against the injustice and inconsistency of the United States toward that color.  Mr. Jefferson’s reply is as follows:—­

“Philadelphia, Pa., August 30, 1791.

“Sir,—­I thank you sincerely for your letter of the 19th instant, and for the almanac it contained.  Nobody wishes more than I do to see such proofs as you exhibit, that Nature has given to our black brethren talents equal to those of the other colors of men, and that the appearance of a want of them is owing only to the degraded condition of their existence both in Africa and America.  I can add with truth that no one wishes more ardently