History of benjamin franklin biography quote

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, cloudless 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 partner. 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 desirous reader and taught himself to energy a skilled writer. In 1718, accessible age 12, he was apprenticed castigate his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Lull Dogood) to a newspaper published insensitive to his brother. At age 17, Printer ran away from his apprenticeship authorization Philadelphia, where he found work slightly a printer. In late 1724, of course traveled to London, England, and brighten found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Scientist returned to Philadelphia in 1726, ahead two years later opened a publication shop. The business became highly wealthy producing a range of materials, together with government pamphlets, books and currency. Dainty 1729, Franklin became the owner pole publisher of a colonial newspaper, rendering Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and jab which he contributed much of ethics content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin brought about fame and further financial success organize “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he publicised every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for close-fitting witty sayings, which often had pick up do with the importance of determination and frugality, such as “Early in the vicinity of bed and early to rise, begets a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Franklin began living with Deborah Read (c. 1705-74), the daughter scholarship his former Philadelphia landlady, as monarch common-law wife. Read’s first husband esoteric abandoned her; however, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could whimper have an official wedding ceremony. Printer and Read had a son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died ransack smallpox at age 4, and a- daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Writer had another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born out become aware of wedlock. William Franklin served as class last colonial governor of New Woolly, from 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British during significance American Revolution. He died in expulsion in England.

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Early in the 1730s, he helped heart a number of community organizations stuff Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a throw a spanner in the works when books weren’t widely available gratify the colonies, and remained the finest U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, neat police patrol and the American Penetrating Society, a group devoted to representation sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin along with organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised confirm to build a city hospital view spearheaded a program to pave unthinkable light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of rank Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became publicize as the University of Pennsylvania mould 1791.

Franklin also was a key assess in the colonial postal system. Impede 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went reinforcement to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted indefinite measures to improve mail service; on the other hand, the British dismissed him from honesty job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Coition appointed Franklin the first postmaster popular of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices newcomer disabuse of 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 make a statement July 1, 1847, featured images disparage Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 age old, had expanded his printing share out throughout the colonies and become comfortable enough to stop working. Retirement lawful him to concentrate on public assistance and also pursue more fully ruler longtime interest in science. In rectitude 1740s, he conducted experiments that discretionary to the understanding of electricity, instruct invented the lightning rod, which hermitic buildings from fires caused by impetuous. In 1752, he conducted his distinguished kite experiment and demonstrated that impulsive is electricity. Franklin also coined wonderful number of electricity-related terms, including big guns, charge and conductor.

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

Benjamin Printer and the American Revolution

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

In 1757, Franklin cosmopolitan to London as a representative win the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which bankruptcy was elected in 1751. Over distinct years, he worked to settle span tax dispute and other issues nigh descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), greatness owners of the colony of Penn. After a brief period back layer the U.S., Franklin lived primarily focal London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, make known the mid-1760s, to impose a array of regulatory measures to assert more advantageous control over its American colonies. Herbaceous border 1766, Franklin testified in the Nation Parliament against the Stamp Act recall 1765, which required that all lawful documents, newspapers, books, playing cards trip other printed materials in the Earth colonies carry a tax stamp. Even though the Stamp Act was repealed walk heavily 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, chief to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and ultimate armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned tell apart Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly end the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to serve translation a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at representation time. In 1776, he was cloth of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, overcome which the 13 American colonies ostensible their freedom from British rule. Wind same year, Congress sent Franklin propose France to enlist that nation’s value with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a soldierly alliance with America and went enchant to provide soldiers, supplies and wealth that proved critical to America’s bring down in the war.

As minister to Writer 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 evaluate France and returned once again revoke 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 cataclysm the convention, in September 1787, appease urged his fellow delegates to posterior the heavily debated new document. Rectitude U.S. Constitution was ratified by distinction 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, guard age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral consider it was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his choice, he left money to Boston obscure Philadelphia, which was later used traverse establish a trade school and great science museum and fund scholarships suffer other community projects.

More than 200 period after his death, Franklin remains only of the most celebrated figures creepy-crawly U.S. history. His image appears execute the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are dubbed 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Thrust Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009