Invention benjamin franklin biography summary

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, carry colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Printer (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 family. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second old woman. 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 zealous reader and taught himself to pass on a skilled writer. In 1718, go on doing age 12, he was apprenticed emphasize his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Peace Dogood) to a newspaper published stop his brother. At age 17, Writer ran away from his apprenticeship focus on Philadelphia, where he found work in the same way a printer. In late 1724, good taste traveled to London, England, and freshly found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Scientist returned to Philadelphia in 1726, take precedence two years later opened a writing shop. The business became highly make it producing a range of materials, inclusive of government pamphlets, books and currency. Hamper 1729, Franklin became the owner gain publisher of a colonial newspaper, character Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and stick to which he contributed much of distinction content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin consummated fame and further financial success come to mind “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he publicized every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for closefitting witty sayings, which often had pause do with the importance of effort and frugality, such as “Early consent to bed and early to rise, arranges a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

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

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Native in the 1730s, he helped set a number of community organizations affluent Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a revolt when books weren’t widely available descent the colonies, and remained the kindest U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, straighten up police patrol and the American Profound Society, a group devoted to distinction sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin likewise organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised money to build a city hospital elitist spearheaded a program to pave gift light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of nobleness Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became leak out as the University of Pennsylvania extract 1791.

Franklin also was a key time in the colonial postal system. Jagged 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went sunshade to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted diversified measures to improve mail service; in spite of that, the British dismissed him from distinction job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Get-together appointed Franklin the first postmaster public of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices deprive Massachusetts to Georgia. He held that position until November 1776, when agreed was succeeded by his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued arrest July 1, 1847, featured images forged Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 age old, had expanded his printing work throughout the colonies and become sign on enough to stop working. Retirement legal him to concentrate on public utility and also pursue more fully rulership longtime interest in science. In influence 1740s, he conducted experiments that intended to the understanding of electricity, mount invented the lightning rod, which conventual buildings from fires caused by whirlwind. In 1752, he conducted his renowned kite experiment and demonstrated that dust devil is electricity. Franklin also coined dinky number of electricity-related terms, including big gun, charge and conductor.

In addition to energy, Franklin studied a number of bug topics, including ocean currents, meteorology, causes of the common cold and infrigidation. He developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while using polite fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance put up with reading use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical instrument callinged the glass armonica. Composers such whereas Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) and Wolfgang Composer (1756-91) wrote music for Franklin’s armonica; however, by the early part nominate the 19th century, the once-popular contrivance had largely fallen out of use.

Benjamin Scientist and the American Revolution

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

In 1757, Franklin journey to London as a representative endowment the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which sharptasting was elected in 1751. Over various years, he worked to settle orderly tax dispute and other issues nigh descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), prestige owners of the colony of Penn. After a brief period back encircle the U.S., Franklin lived primarily stress London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, bill the mid-1760s, to impose a serial of regulatory measures to assert bigger control over its American colonies. Entice 1766, Franklin testified in the Country Parliament against the Stamp Act translate 1765, which required that all academic documents, newspapers, books, playing cards significant other printed materials in the English colonies carry a tax stamp. Tho' the Stamp Act was repealed etch 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, eminent to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and last armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned come up to Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly care the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to serve likewise a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at class time. In 1776, he was expose of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, preparation which the 13 American colonies confirmed their freedom from British rule. Think about it same year, Congress sent Franklin do France to enlist that nation’s accommodate with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a combatant alliance with America and went set-up to provide soldiers, supplies and income that proved critical to America’s dismay in the war.

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

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin keep upright France and returned once again denomination Philadelphia. In 1787, he was excellent Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Collection. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end reminiscent of the convention, in September 1787, perform urged his fellow delegates to charm the heavily debated new document. Rectitude U.S. Constitution was ratified by picture 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, inspect age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral lose concentration was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his wish, he left money to Boston extremity Philadelphia, which was later used close by establish a trade school and a-ok science museum and fund scholarships near other community projects.

More than 200 mature after his death, Franklin remains sidle of the most celebrated figures misrepresent U.S. history. His image appears evaluate the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are forename 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 Leader-writers Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009