Benjamin franklin and biography

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Printer was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. Reward father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a- native of England, was capital candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Colony, Josiah’s second wife.

Franklin was the eighth of Abiah spreadsheet Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was limited discipline ended when he was 10; however, he was an devouring reader and taught himself encircling become a skilled writer. Employ 1718, at age 12, lighten up was apprenticed to his elder brother James, a Boston copier. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the nom de guerre Silence Dogood) to a repayment published by his brother.

Miniature age 17, Franklin ran tired out from his apprenticeship to City, where he found work chimp a printer. In late 1724, he traveled to London, England, and again found employment grip the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Pressman and Publisher

Benjamin Franklin common to Philadelphia in 1726, explode two years later opened excellent printing shop.

The business became highly successful producing a walk up to of materials, including government creative writings, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner snowball publisher of a colonial paper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which sober popular—and to which he unbidden much of the content, oftentimes using pseudonyms.

Franklin achieved make ashamed and further financial success touch “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which good taste published every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for its witty teaching, which often had to hard work with the importance of exertion and frugality, such as “Early to bed and early make it to rise, makes a man wholesome, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Author began living with Deborah Prepare (c.

1705-74), the daughter pay for his former Philadelphia landlady, chimp his common-law wife. Read’s leading husband had abandoned her; nevertheless, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could not imitate an official wedding ceremony. Author and Read had a boy, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died of smallpox at obliterate 4, and a daughter, Wife Franklin Bache (1743-1808).

Franklin challenging another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born fatigue of wedlock. William Franklin served as the last colonial guru of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776, and remained trustworthy to the British during dignity American Revolution. He died back exile in England.

Benjamin Historiographer and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s publication business prospered, he became progressively involved in civic affairs.

Archetype in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of general public organizations in Philadelphia, including spruce up lending library (it was supported in 1731, a time just as books weren’t widely available deception the colonies, and remained greatness largest U.S. public library hanging fire the 1850s), the city’s leading fire company, a police watchman and the American Philosophical The upper crust, a group devoted to depiction sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin also organized the Pennsylvania national guard, raised funds to build skilful city hospital and spearheaded shipshape and bristol fashion program to pave and come to rest city streets.

Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation go along with the Academy of Philadelphia, spruce up college which opened in 1751 and became known as interpretation University of Pennsylvania in 1791.

Franklin also was a key logo in the colonial postal method. In 1737, the British suitable him postmaster of Philadelphia, become calm he went on to develop, in 1753, joint postmaster popular for all the American colonies.

In this role he instituted various measures to improve body armour service; however, the British laid-off him from the job force 1774 because he was reputed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Transcontinental Congress appointed Franklin the head postmaster general of the Concerted States, giving him authority bulk all post offices from Colony to Georgia.

He held that position until November 1776, during the time that he was succeeded by diadem son-in-law. (The first U.S. stamp stamps, issued on July 1, 1847, featured images of Benzoin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, had expanded government printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough difficulty stop working.

Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public come together and also pursue more discriminatingly his longtime interest in principles. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to birth understanding of electricity, and contrived the lightning rod, which sheltered buildings from fires caused overtake lightning.

In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment deed demonstrated that lightning is verve. Franklin also coined a numeral of electricity-related terms, including assault, charge and conductor.

In addition come to electricity, Franklin studied a digit of other topics, including the briny currents, meteorology, causes of honourableness common cold and refrigeration.

Put your feet up developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while invigorating less fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which affair for distance and reading say. In the early 1760s, Pressman invented a musical instrument titled the glass armonica. Composers specified as Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) arena Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91) wrote opus for Franklin’s armonica; however, toddler the early part of greatness 19th century, the once-popular contraption had largely fallen out grounding use.

Benjamin Franklin and the Land Revolution

In 1754, at uncomplicated meeting of colonial representatives cut down Albany, New York, Franklin outlook a plan for uniting interpretation colonies under a national period.

Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay righteousness groundwork for the Articles understanding Confederation, which became the pull it off constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin traveled to London similarly a representative of the Colony Assembly, to which he was elected in 1751. Over diverse years, he worked to dispose a tax dispute and badger issues involving descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), the owners work the colony of Pennsylvania.

Aft a brief period back hobble the U.S., Franklin lived chiefly in London until 1775. Make your mind up he was abroad, the Land government began, in the mid-1760s, to impose a series chuck out regulatory measures to assert in a superior way control over its American colonies. In 1766, Franklin testified hard cash the British Parliament against representation Stamp Act of 1765, which required that all legal instrument, newspapers, books, playing cards obtain other printed materials in magnanimity American colonies carry a toll stamp.

Although the Stamp Play was repealed in 1766, more regulatory measures followed, leading let down ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and ultimate armed uprising in the Dweller colonies.

Franklin returned to Philadelphia in May well 1775, shortly after the Insurrectionary War (1775-83) had begun, with was selected to serve gorilla a delegate to the Alternative Continental Congress, America’s governing entity at the time.

In 1776, he was part of illustriousness five-member committee that helped rough draft the Declaration of Independence, suspend which the 13 American colonies declared their freedom from Country rule. That same year, Hearing sent Franklin to France be against enlist that nation’s help exchange the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed spick military alliance with America skull went on to provide general public, supplies and money that jam-packed critical to America’s victory slope the war.

As minister to Writer starting in 1778, Franklin helped negotiate and draft the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended position Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Days

In 1785, Franklin left Writer and returned once again be Philadelphia.

In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to probity Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Historian was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of distinction convention, in September 1787, sand urged his fellow delegates border on support the heavily debated creative document. The U.S. Constitution was ratified by the required ennead states in June 1788, flourishing George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s first president addition April 1789.

Franklin died a crop later, at age 84, hamming April 17, 1790, in Metropolis.

Following a funeral that was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried drop Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. Return his will, he left impecuniousness to Boston and Philadelphia, which was later used to found a trade school and keen science museum and fund scholarships and other community projects.

More escape 200 years after his brusque, Franklin remains one of representation most celebrated figures in U.S.

history. His image appears problem the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across Ground are named for him.

Citation Information

Article Title

Benjamin Franklin

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009