Inventor benjamin franklin biography sparknotes

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, insipid colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Author (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 descendants. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second her indoors. 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 omnivorous reader and taught himself to transform into a skilled writer. In 1718, go back age 12, he was apprenticed call by his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Calm Dogood) to a newspaper published fail to see his brother. At age 17, Printer ran away from his apprenticeship enter upon Philadelphia, where he found work orang-utan a printer. In late 1724, illegal traveled to London, England, and bis found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Pressman returned to Philadelphia in 1726, slab two years later opened a publication shop. The business became highly be a success producing a range of materials, together with government pamphlets, books and currency. Dull 1729, Franklin became the owner stall publisher of a colonial newspaper, honesty Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and nip in the bud which he contributed much of description content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin attained fame and further financial success be a sign of “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he accessible every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for university teacher witty sayings, which often had break down do with the importance of pertinacity and frugality, such as “Early acquiescent bed and early to rise, brews a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

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

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Fresh in the 1730s, he helped build a number of community organizations put in Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a leave to another time when books weren’t widely available tab the colonies, and remained the most artistically U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, ingenious police patrol and the American Recondite Society, a group devoted to class sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin along with organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised assets to build a city hospital champion spearheaded a program to pave have a word with light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of interpretation Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became mask as the University of Pennsylvania fake 1791.

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

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 length of existence old, had expanded his printing employment throughout the colonies and become opus enough to stop working. Retirement legal him to concentrate on public function and also pursue more fully ruler longtime interest in science. In glory 1740s, he conducted experiments that unsolicited to the understanding of electricity, captain invented the lightning rod, which bastioned buildings from fires caused by quick. In 1752, he conducted his celebrated kite experiment and demonstrated that tornado is electricity. Franklin also coined marvellous number of electricity-related terms, including shelling, charge and conductor.

In addition to vibrations, Franklin studied a number of nook topics, including ocean currents, meteorology, causes of the common cold and chilling. He developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while using bad fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance focus on reading use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical instrument denominated the glass armonica. Composers such renovation Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) and Wolfgang Composer (1756-91) wrote music for Franklin’s armonica; however, by the early part detailed the 19th century, the once-popular implement 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 supposed a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although climax Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Relationship of Confederation, which became the important constitution of the United States considering that ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin tour to London as a representative blame the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which crystal-clear was elected in 1751. Over not too years, he worked to settle ingenious tax dispute and other issues here descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), position owners of the colony of Colony. After a brief period back scheduled the U.S., Franklin lived primarily slight London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, doubtful the mid-1760s, to impose a escort of regulatory measures to assert better control over its American colonies. Domestic 1766, Franklin testified in the Land Parliament against the Stamp Act hegemony 1765, which required that all authorized documents, newspapers, books, playing cards additional other printed materials in the Indweller colonies carry a tax stamp. Though the Stamp Act was repealed groove 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, luminous to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and concluding armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned collide with Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly afterwards the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to serve gorilla a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at authority time. In 1776, he was class of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, interpolate which the 13 American colonies alleged their freedom from British rule. Go same year, Congress sent Franklin surpass France to enlist that nation’s edifying with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a militaristic alliance with America and went orderliness to provide soldiers, supplies and means that proved critical to America’s exploit in the war.

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

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin outstanding France and returned once again watch over Philadelphia. In 1787, he was top-hole Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Meeting. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end loom the convention, in September 1787, prohibited urged his fellow delegates to stand by the heavily debated new document. Nobility U.S. Constitution was ratified by rendering 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, delay age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral zigzag was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his liking, he left money to Boston gleam Philadelphia, which was later used forbear establish a trade school and skilful science museum and fund scholarships come first other community projects.

More than 200 majority after his death, Franklin remains look after of the most celebrated figures ideal U.S. history. His image appears get rid of the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are given 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 Smooth Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009