The DC Traveler

Benjamin Banneker was a free-born descendent of African slaves who was not only a mathematician, clockmaker, astronomer and publisher, but also had a near photographic memory.  Some historians consider him the first African-American scientist.
Raised on a tobacco farm in Maryland, he was self-taught in the sciences and problem-solving skills.
From 1792 to 1797, he was appointed to assist DC urban planner Pierre Charles L’Enfant in surveying and planning the land that was to become Washington, D.C.
     
Working closely L’Enfant before he quit over bureaucratic frustration and taking the only printed plans to the city with him, legend has it that Banneker …read more

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The United States Marine Band will honor its most famous leader, American march composer, John Phillips Sousa, in a memorial morning concert at Congressional Cemetery.  This free concert will pay tribute on the 152nd anniversary of his birth.
The U.S. Marine Band was formed by Act of Congress during the presidency of John Adams in 1798 and has performed for every Presidential Inauguration since Thomas Jefferson’s.
Sousa took over the as the 17th leader of the U.S. Marine Band in 1880.  During his years as bandleader, he embarked on the first of many national tours where they introduced the nation to the …read more

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