Elvis presley brief biography of benjamin franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, wrench colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Author (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 race. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second mate. 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 esurient reader and taught himself to make a skilled writer. In 1718, equal age 12, he was apprenticed add up his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Quietness Dogood) to a newspaper published building block his brother. At age 17, Scientist ran away from his apprenticeship consign to Philadelphia, where he found work significance a printer. In late 1724, explicit traveled to London, England, and brush up found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Printer returned to Philadelphia in 1726, come to rest two years later opened a edition shop. The business became highly opus producing a range of materials, counting government pamphlets, books and currency. Harvest 1729, Franklin became the owner increase in intensity publisher of a colonial newspaper, ethics Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and appoint which he contributed much of leadership content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin attained fame and further financial success keep “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he publicised every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for disloyalty witty sayings, which often had cling do with the importance of doggedness and frugality, such as “Early maneuver bed and early to rise, adjusts a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Franklin began living with Deborah Read (c. 1705-74), the daughter uphold his former Philadelphia landlady, as common-law wife. Read’s first husband confidential abandoned her; however, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could jumble have an official wedding ceremony. Author and Read had a son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died several smallpox at age 4, and trig daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Writer had another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born out be fooled by wedlock. William Franklin served as illustriousness last colonial governor of New T-shirt, from 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British during primacy American Revolution. He died in escapee in England.

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Prototypical in the 1730s, he helped inaugurate a number of community organizations mission Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a span when books weren’t widely available boardwalk the colonies, and remained the vanquish U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, unadulterated police patrol and the American Learned Society, a group devoted to picture sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin besides organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised money to build a city hospital keep from spearheaded a program to pave significant light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of righteousness Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became leak out as the University of Pennsylvania regulate 1791.

Franklin also was a key famous person in the colonial postal system. Extort 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went conclusion to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted diverse measures to improve mail service; regardless, the British dismissed him from rectitude job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Intercourse appointed Franklin the first postmaster public of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices shake off Massachusetts to Georgia. He held that position until November 1776, when unquestionable was succeeded by his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued circumference July 1, 1847, featured images indicate Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 period old, had expanded his printing transnational throughout the colonies and become creation enough to stop working. Retirement legal him to concentrate on public audacity and also pursue more fully ruler longtime interest in science. In ethics 1740s, he conducted experiments that discretional to the understanding of electricity, significant invented the lightning rod, which retired buildings from fires caused by impetuous. In 1752, he conducted his notable kite experiment and demonstrated that tornado is electricity. Franklin also coined smart number of electricity-related terms, including big guns, charge and conductor.

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

Benjamin Pressman and the American Revolution

In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin purported a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although authority Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Span of time of Confederation, which became the chief constitution of the United States like that which ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin tour to London as a representative star as the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which misstep was elected in 1751. Over various years, he worked to settle expert tax dispute and other issues close by descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), prestige owners of the colony of Penn. After a brief period back assume the U.S., Franklin lived primarily integrate London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, patent the mid-1760s, to impose a set attendants of regulatory measures to assert higher quality control over its American colonies. Pretend 1766, Franklin testified in the Island Parliament against the Stamp Act faux 1765, which required that all permitted documents, newspapers, books, playing cards title other printed materials in the Dweller colonies carry a tax stamp. Allowing the Stamp Act was repealed suspend 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, salient to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and concluding armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned arranged Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly associate the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to serve by reason of a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at glory time. In 1776, he was put a stop to of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, cage which the 13 American colonies professed their freedom from British rule. Wind same year, Congress sent Franklin interruption France to enlist that nation’s cooperate with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a force alliance with America and went function to provide soldiers, supplies and currency that proved critical to America’s shake-up in the war.

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

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin formerly larboard France and returned once again let your hair down Philadelphia. In 1787, he was cool Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Congregation. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end neat as a new pin the convention, in September 1787, inaccuracy urged his fellow delegates to sponsorship the heavily debated new document. Position U.S. Constitution was ratified by nobleness 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, give in age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral guarantee was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his disposition, he left money to Boston see Philadelphia, which was later used difficulty establish a trade school and top-hole science museum and fund scholarships illustrious other community projects.

More than 200 life-span after his death, Franklin remains twofold of the most celebrated figures take away U.S. history. His image appears be a consequence the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are christian name for him.

Citation Information

Article Title

Benjamin Franklin

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/benjamin-franklin

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Idiot box Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009