Important Contributors
Mercy Otis Warren, a writer during the late 1700s and early 1800s, published History of the American Revolution.
Benjamin Rush, who was a physician and scientist, published numerous books on chemistry, medicine, and mental illness. He also signed the Declaration of Independence and represented Philadelphia in the Continental Congress.
Benjamin Banneker was an African American writer, inventor, mathematician, and astronomer. Banneker, who was self–taught, published an astronomy almanac and eventually became one of Thomas Jefferson’s Presidential advisors.
Charles Wilson Peale made vast contributions in art. In 1786, he opened the first major museum in the United States. His museum eventually housed around 100,000 pieces.
Phillis Wheatley, who was a slave from Senegal, West Africa, was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston in 1761. Wheatley was gifted; she was taught to read and write. By 1776 she went on to have several poems published, which was considered a major accomplishment for a young slave girl during this period. One poem was even dedicated to George Washington.