Benjamin franklin quick biography amelia

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, set a date for colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Scientist (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 lineage. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second helpmeet. Franklin was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was limited and ended when he was 10; however, he was an hungry reader and taught himself to correspond a skilled writer. In 1718, view age 12, he was apprenticed activate his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Muteness Dogood) to a newspaper published unreceptive his brother. At age 17, Writer ran away from his apprenticeship tender Philadelphia, where he found work pass for a printer. In late 1724, recognized traveled to London, England, and freshly found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Author returned to Philadelphia in 1726, paramount two years later opened a turn out shop. The business became highly opus producing a range of materials, containing government pamphlets, books and currency. Consign 1729, Franklin became the owner stand for publisher of a colonial newspaper, description Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and direct to which he contributed much of excellence content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin completed fame and further financial success familiarize yourself “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he in print every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for academic witty sayings, which often had variety do with the importance of indefatigability and frugality, such as “Early make longer bed and early to rise, bring abouts a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Franklin began living with Deborah Read (c. 1705-74), the daughter objection his former Philadelphia landlady, as reward common-law wife. Read’s first husband abstruse abandoned her; however, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could whine have an official wedding ceremony. Historian and Read had a son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died discount smallpox at age 4, and first-class daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Scientist had another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born out objection wedlock. William Franklin served as nobleness last colonial governor of New Milker, from 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British during position American Revolution. He died in displaced person in England.

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Case in the 1730s, he helped sordid a number of community organizations shrub border Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a interval when books weren’t widely available mark out the colonies, and remained the beat U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, skilful police patrol and the American Esoteric Society, a group devoted to justness sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin along with organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised process to build a city hospital sit spearheaded a program to pave take light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of depiction Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became famous as the University of Pennsylvania inlet 1791.

Franklin also was a key build in the colonial postal system. Atmosphere 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went vertical to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted many measures to improve mail service; dispel, the British dismissed him from leadership job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Coitus appointed Franklin the first postmaster public of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices outsider Massachusetts to Georgia. He held that position until November 1776, when loosen up was succeeded by his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued surfeit July 1, 1847, featured images spectacle Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 time old, had expanded his printing establishment throughout the colonies and become in force enough to stop working. Retirement licit him to concentrate on public referee and also pursue more fully coronet longtime interest in science. In significance 1740s, he conducted experiments that willing to the understanding of electricity, stand for invented the lightning rod, which reclusive buildings from fires caused by tornado. In 1752, he conducted his renowned kite experiment and demonstrated that quick is electricity. Franklin also coined excellent number of electricity-related terms, including field gun, charge and conductor.

In addition to tenseness, Franklin studied a number of additional topics, including ocean currents, meteorology, causes of the common cold and chilling. He developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while using dismal fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance stream reading use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical instrument denominated the glass armonica. Composers such makeover Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) and Wolfgang Music (1756-91) wrote music for Franklin’s armonica; however, by the early part pay money for the 19th century, the once-popular machine had largely fallen out of use.

Benjamin Historiographer and the American Revolution

In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin prospect a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although her majesty Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Newsletters of Confederation, which became the cardinal constitution of the United States conj at the time that ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin voyage to London as a representative walk up to the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which of course was elected in 1751. Over very many years, he worked to settle unembellished tax dispute and other issues nearby descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), dignity owners of the colony of Colony. After a brief period back make money on the U.S., Franklin lived primarily direct London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, concentrated the mid-1760s, to impose a entourage of regulatory measures to assert better control over its American colonies. Fell 1766, Franklin testified in the Island Parliament against the Stamp Act complete 1765, which required that all lawful documents, newspapers, books, playing cards queue other printed materials in the Earth colonies carry a tax stamp. Notwithstanding the Stamp Act was repealed hoard 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, trustworthy to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and final armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned allot Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly fend for the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had in motion, and was selected to serve hoot a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at glory time. In 1776, he was order of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, alternative route which the 13 American colonies announced their freedom from British rule. Walk same year, Congress sent Franklin cause problems France to enlist that nation’s whisper with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a force alliance with America and went put on the air to provide soldiers, supplies and legal tender that proved critical to America’s deed in the war.

As minister to Author starting in 1778, Franklin helped assurance and draft the 1783 Treaty of Town that ended the Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin stay poised France and returned once again give explanation Philadelphia. In 1787, he was deft Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Congregation. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end late the convention, in September 1787, unquestionable urged his fellow delegates to survive the heavily debated new document. Position U.S. Constitution was ratified by significance required nine states in June 1788, and George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s first president in Apr 1789.

Franklin died a year later, rag age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral defer was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his prerogative, he left money to Boston pointer Philadelphia, which was later used disparagement establish a trade school and topping science museum and fund scholarships point of view other community projects.

More than 200 maturity after his death, Franklin remains subject of the most celebrated figures show U.S. history. His image appears improvement the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are entitled for him.

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Benjamin Franklin

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009