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Born: January 17, 1706 in Boston Massachusetts
Died: April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Father: Josiah Franklin (1657-1744)
Mother: Abiah Folger (1667-1752)
Married: Deborah Read (Common Law)
Children:
- William Franklin (1731-1813)
- Francis Folger Franklin (1732-1736)
- Sarah (Sally) Franklin (1743-1808)
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These few words cannot be expected to do justice to a man
who led, by any standards, a full and varied life. Indeed in
these days of specialization it is difficult to take
seriously a man whose life encompassed meetings at the
American Philosophical Society (which he founded), debates
in the Pennsylvania legislature, investigations into the
nature of electricity, representing the interests of the
Colonists to the English Parliament, negotiating the Treaty
of Paris and many inventions, physical and social, that are
still apparent today.
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Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790)
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Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on 17 January
1706, the 15th of 17 children. His dad was an English tallow chandler and
soap boiler who had emigrated 20 years earlier.
Franklin was sent to Boston's Latin school when he was 8, with a view
to being trained for a theological career, but only stayed there for a year.
His father then sent him to a school for writing and arithmetic. It seems
that Franklin's father had decided that his boy was not destined for the
ministry. At 10, he was taken out of school to assist his father in his
business. Since he was fond of reading - and customarily spent any money he
could get hold of on books - it was decided that he should become a printer.
When he was 12 he was apprenticed to his elder brother James, who had
recently set up as a Boston printer. As well as books and pamphlets, James
Franklin printed silks and other materials. While working for his brother,
Franklin discovered that he was skilled in the art of tabloid writing, and
the two made a few pennies writing articles about death and dismay. At 16 he
also tried his hand at writing a serious article, and was thrilled to have
his anonymous contribution well-received and printed.
The business relationship between the two brothers was not to last
long though. The paper James Franklin printed continuously criticised the
ecclesiastical and civil authorities in Boston. The Governor, having had
enough of all this, stopped James from printing the paper, and sent him to
jail for one month. On his release, James changed the name of the printer to
Benjamin Franklin, in order to print the paper (and his views) again, and to
evade prosecution.
The partnership between the two brothers did not last much beyond
this - they eventually came to blows and parted ways. Because of the bad
blood, James worked to prevent his brother from getting positions anywhere
else in Boston, so Franklin decided that he would go to New York and seek
his fortune there. Once in New York, the only work was part time, so it was
suggested to him that he go to Philadelphia.
The Governor of Philadelphia heard of Franklin through some of
Franklin's extended family, and came to visit him in the printers where he
worked. He was impressed with the young man of 18, and when Franklin's
father refused to finance Franklin to set up his own business, the Governor
put up the money. He suggested to Franklin that he travel to London to
purchase his printing equipment, and thereby meet useful people in England.
It was not until Franklin arrived in London after 8 weeks at sea that he
realised that the letters of credit promised to him by the Governor were not
going to arrive. Eventually one of his acquaintances offered him some work
back in Philadelphia and he was homesick, so after 2 years in England he
went back to the US in 1726. He arrived back a very skilled printer. This
was the first of eight journeys to England that Franklin would make.
Back in Philadelphia he began a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette,
which was to make him rich. He wrote most of the articles for it, and it
steadily became more influential. With his printing and newspaper business
in full swing in the 1720's he set about trying to find himself a wife. He
demanded a dowry with his wife - enough money to pay off his debts, and had
trouble finding a family who would put up that much money. Eventually in
1730 he married Deborah Read, with whom he had had a brief courtship in
1723. Business continued to grow, and Franklin began to publish many other
publications. Quite surprisingly, Franklin retired from active business at
the age of 42. He did this in order to focus on his scientific experiments.
Prior to retiring Franklin had already begun his experiments with
electricity, and he was now able to devote more time to them. The electric
battery was not invented until after Franklin died; so he was never able to
work with an electric current. However, he managed to sort out many of the
mysteries of static electricity that had puzzled people for ages. If you rub
a glass rod with a piece of cloth, then it picks up an electric charge.
Franklin realised that an equal amount of charge of the opposite kind
collected on the cloth. This principle is now called the conservation of
charge. He coined the terms positive and negative electricity for the
different kinds of charge.
Franklin believed that lightning was simply electricity, and he
wondered how the damage caused by lightning strokes could be avoided. He
wrote in his notebook "The electric fluid is attracted by points - We
do not know whether this property is in lightning… Let the experiment be
made." As a result of this experiment, Franklin wrote in 1749 that
during thunderstorms, trees, spires, and chimneys would "draw the
electrical fire" and therefore you should never shelter under a tree
from a thunderstorm. People were terrified of thunderstorms, which were
thought to be manifestations of divine wrath, and until then the best
defence they had was to ring the church bells - but every year dozens of
church steeples were struck and many bell-ringers killed! And in the
following year he proposed that buildings should be protected by sharpened
upright rods of iron, gilded to prevent rusting, fixed on the highest parts
of edifices, and run down into the ground, in order to "draw the
electrical fire silently out of a cloud before it became nigh enough to
strike." In other words he invented the lightning conductor. In
practice, as he discovered later, lightning conductors have two functions;
first they "disarm" passing clouds by discharging them, and second
if there is a lightning stroke they carry the current safely to the ground.
In June 1752 Franklin did his most famous experiment, flying a kite up into
a thundercloud, and drawing sparks from a key tied to the bottom of the wet
string, holding on by means of a piece of dry silk and keeping himself
insulated. This proved that lightning and electricity were the same thing.
For his work on electricity he became widely known in the scientific
community - both in the USA and Britain. He had published papers in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and the Royal Society
conferred upon him one of their highest awards - the Copley medal in 1753.
In 1756 he was made a fellow of that society. He received honorary degrees
from Harvard, Yale, and William and Mary Universities.
Franklin was a man of extraordinarily wide interests and talents. He
studied the effect of pouring oil on troubled waters, and invented the
rocking chair, bifocal spectacles, and daylight saving time. He charted the
Gulf Stream, and was the first to suggest the use of thermometers as an
instrument of navigation - knowing the temperature of the Stream allowed one
to follow it. Franklin's scientific accomplishments were commended no matter
where the inventor travelled. In 1759, St. Andrews University in Scotland
bestowed an honorary degree upon the Philadelphian, and Oxford University in
England followed suit in 1762. Benjamin's stay in Great Britain enabled the
Pennsylvanian representative to refine his musical talents. While abroad,
Franklin learned to play an assortment of musical instruments, including the
harp, guitar, and violin. However, nothing gave him more satisfaction than
his invention of the glass harmonica. This truly wonderful instrument would
have a profound influence on classical music throughout the next century.
Franklin is probably best known for being a brilliant statesman. In
the French and English wars, he took the side of the British and tried to
encourage peace with the French and the Native American Indians, who were
fighting together. He also fought for the rights of the Native Americans.
Back in London for a time, he tried to use his contacts to stress the
importance of America as a colony, but came away disillusioned with the
British and their self-importance, and began calling himself an American
rather than an English American for the first time.
When the American colonies decided to go their own way, he was one of
the three men (the others were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams) who drew up
the Declaration of Independence, read in Congress on 4 July 1776:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness."
Franklin spent his last years in Philadelphia, and gradually became
infirm. Towards the end of his illness, his daughter remarked that she hoped
he might live a while longer, to which he replied 'I hope not.' He died aged
84.
Recommended readings: (Click on the link to purchase)
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Title: Benjamin
Franklin: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin || Author:
H W Brands || ISDN: 0-38549-328-2 || Released:
September 2000 |
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Don't be intimidated by the length (700 pages without notes)
of this fine book. It's an extremely well-written and
engaging account of a life well lived. The author makes
great use of Franklin's immense body of writing as well as
his innate humor. The result is a wonderfully readable
biography that brings forth both the man and his
accomplishments. As a Founding Father, Franklin is naturally
accorded respect, gratitude, and even awe by most Americans.
His famous experiments with electricity and his numerous
inventions from bifocals to the harmonica are cause for
amazement no matter what your nationality. His civic
contributions include founding both the first lending
library and the first fire station in America. His writings
are numerous and visionary. One might expect a man of such
accomplishments to be vain, driven, or aloof. But, as this
book will make clear, Ben Franklin was first and foremost a
delightful and humorous man. You'll enjoy getting to know
him better. If you've an interest in historical biography or
the history of the American Revolution, you simply must read
this book. Even if you don't usually read history, there's
no better re-introduction to this marvelous figure from your
school book days.
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Title: Benjamin
Franklin : Writings (Library of America) || Author: Leo
Lemay (Editor) || ISDN: 0-94045-029-1 || Released: September
1987 |
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The book is organized and presented in chronological order. This
is a great text for those who are wanting a very detailed volume
of Franklin's writings. However, it is also a great compilation
for those who simply want to sit down and get a sample of the
works of Franklin to find out what type of man he was, what he
believed, what he taught, his sense of humor and the like. This
book has been one of the best investments that I have made in my
collection of American Revolutionary (Founders) history. I highly
recommend this work.
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Title: Benjamin
Franklin's the Art of Virtue : His Formula for Successful Living
|| Author: George Rogers (Editor) || ISDN: 0-93839-910-1
|| Released: June 1996 |
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A book like this should be mandatory reading for everyone.
Particularly people who represent other people's interests for a
living, such as World Leaders, Presidents, Kings, etc., would find
it absolutely useful; a kind of constant tool, a compass that
keeps them on the right track once and again. This is a book that
shows not only Franklin's wit and wisdom, but also his
vulnerability, that wonderful human quality, thus making it
enchanting and insightful. Buy this book, learn and practice these
principles, and enjoy the new breath of fresh air you'll
experience in your life.
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