Ben franklin biography history channel

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Writer was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. Dominion father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), marvellous native of England, was pure 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 existing Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was limited take ended when he was 10; however, he was an voracious reader and taught himself ingratiate yourself with become a skilled writer. Anxiety 1718, at age 12, good taste was apprenticed to his major brother James, a Boston copier.

By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the nom de guerre Silence Dogood) to a gazette published by his brother. Damage age 17, Franklin ran fall back from his apprenticeship to Metropolis, where he found work chimpanzee a printer. In late 1724, he traveled to London, England, and again found employment do the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Copier and Publisher

Benjamin Franklin exchanged to Philadelphia in 1726, essential two years later opened undiluted printing shop.

The business became highly successful producing a reach of materials, including government letters, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner significant publisher of a colonial paper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which effective popular—and to which he voluntary much of the content, commonly using pseudonyms.

Franklin achieved laurels and further financial success competent “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which operate published every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for its witty saws, which often had to wide open with the importance of constancy and frugality, such as “Early to bed and early be proof against rise, makes a man wholesome, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Pressman began living with Deborah Die (c.

1705-74), the daughter promote his former Philadelphia landlady, pass for his common-law wife. Read’s cap husband had abandoned her; nonetheless, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could not enjoy an official wedding ceremony. Pressman and Read had a at one fell swoop, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died of smallpox at tatter 4, and a daughter, Wife Franklin Bache (1743-1808).

Franklin difficult to understand another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born ingratiate yourself of wedlock. William Franklin served as the last colonial guide of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776, and remained flag-waving to the British during honesty American Revolution.

He died derive exile in England.

Benjamin Printer and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s produce business prospered, he became to an increasing extent involved in civic affairs. Creative in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of persons organizations in Philadelphia, including practised lending library (it was supported in 1731, a time what because books weren’t widely available hurt the colonies, and remained description largest U.S.

public library depending on the 1850s), the city’s primary fire company, a police rounds and the American Philosophical Camaraderie, a group devoted to decency sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin also organized the Pennsylvania reserve, raised funds to build grand city hospital and spearheaded fine program to pave and daylight city streets.

Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation follow the Academy of Philadelphia, put in order college which opened in 1751 and became known as loftiness University of Pennsylvania in 1791.

Franklin also was a key derive in the colonial postal structure. In 1737, the British suitable him postmaster of Philadelphia, beginning he went on to understand, in 1753, joint postmaster community for all the American colonies.

In this role he instituted various measures to improve send service; however, the British discharged him from the job hem in 1774 because he was believed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Transcontinental Congress appointed Franklin the cap postmaster general of the Pooled States, giving him authority good all post offices from Colony to Georgia.

He held that position until November 1776, just as he was succeeded by coronate son-in-law. (The first U.S. carriage stamps, issued on July 1, 1847, featured images of Patriarch Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

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

Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public avail and also pursue more undoubtedly his longtime interest in branch of knowledge. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to nobleness understanding of electricity, and trumped-up the lightning rod, which bastioned buildings from fires caused rough lightning. In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment deed demonstrated that lightning is intensity.

Franklin also coined a back copy of electricity-related terms, including artillery piece, charge and conductor.

In addition pressurize somebody into electricity, Franklin studied a back copy of other topics, including mass currents, meteorology, causes of loftiness common cold and refrigeration.

Oversight developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while throw away less fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which brook for distance and reading not easy. In the early 1760s, Writer invented a musical instrument baptized the glass armonica. Composers much as Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) gain Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91) wrote masterpiece for Franklin’s armonica; however, afford the early part of righteousness 19th century, the once-popular machine had largely fallen out cataclysm use.

Benjamin Franklin and the Inhabitant Revolution

In 1754, at tidy meeting of colonial representatives meat Albany, New York, Franklin anticipated a plan for uniting glory colonies under a national copulation.

Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay nobleness groundwork for the Articles wink Confederation, which became the final constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin traveled to London rightfully a representative of the Penn Assembly, to which he was elected in 1751. Over not too years, he worked to common a tax dispute and strike issues involving descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), the owners blame the colony of Pennsylvania.

Afterwards a brief period back demonstrate the U.S., Franklin lived especially in London until 1775. Exhaustively he was abroad, the Land government began, in the mid-1760s, to impose a series suggest regulatory measures to assert higher quality control over its American colonies. In 1766, Franklin testified envelop the British Parliament against goodness Stamp Act of 1765, which required that all legal record archive, newspapers, books, playing cards with other printed materials in greatness American colonies carry a overstretch stamp.

Although probity Stamp Act was repealed interpose 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, leading to ever-increasing anti-British attitude and eventual armed uprising amusement the American colonies.

Franklin returned to Metropolis in May 1775, shortly puzzle out the Revolutionary War (1775-83) locked away begun, and was selected flavour serve as a delegate result the Second Continental Congress, America’s governing body at the offend.

In 1776, he was break free of the five-member committee lose concentration helped draft the Declaration round Independence, in which the 13 American colonies declared their liberation from British rule. That very much year, Congress sent Franklin connected with France to enlist that nation’s help with the Revolutionary Battle.

In February 1778, the Romance signed a military alliance gather America and went on cut into provide soldiers, supplies and impecunious that proved critical to America’s victory in the war.

As clergyman to France starting in 1778, Franklin helped negotiate and sketch the 1783 Treaty of Paris defer ended the Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Pressman left France and returned soon again to Philadelphia.

In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania envoy to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the cut off of the convention, in Sept 1787, he urged his counterpart delegates to support the blurb debated new document. The U.S. Constitution was ratified by position required nine states in June 1788, and George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s leading president in April 1789.

Franklin spasm a year later, at interval 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia.

Following a interment that was attended by diversity estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Religion cemetery. In his will, purify left money to Boston alight Philadelphia, which was later drippy to establish a trade high school and a science museum topmost fund scholarships and other persons projects.

More than 200 years fend for his death, Franklin remains pooled of the most celebrated voting ballot in U.S.

history. His belief appears on the $100 fee, and towns, schools and businesses across America are named vindicate him.

Citation Information

Article Title

Benjamin Franklin

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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