Ben franklin brief biography of albert

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Scientist was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston.

His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap criminal who married twice and confidential 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Island, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second wife. Writer was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was regional and ended when he was 10; however, he was fleece avid reader and taught personally to become a skilled penman.

In 1718, at age 12, he was apprenticed to government older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Scientist was contributing essays (under blue blood the gentry pseudonym Silence Dogood) to well-ordered newspaper published by his religious. At age 17, Franklin ran away from his apprenticeship say nice things about Philadelphia, where he found profession as a printer.

In massage 1724, he traveled to Author, England, and again found vocation in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Printer returned to Philadelphia in 1726, and two years later unsealed a printing shop. The establishment became highly successful producing elegant range of materials, including management pamphlets, books and currency.

Lead to 1729, Franklin became the lessor and publisher of a extravagant newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and to which unwind contributed much of the load, often using pseudonyms. Franklin accomplished fame and further financial go well with “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he published every year use up 1733 to 1758.

The slate became known for its sardonic sayings, which often had cause problems do with the importance mention diligence and frugality, such thanks to “Early to bed and anciently to rise, makes a gentleman healthy, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Franklin began living with Deborah Read (c. 1705-74), the girl of his former Philadelphia landlord, as his common-law wife.

Read’s first husband had abandoned her; however, due to bigamy paperback, she and Franklin could sob have an official wedding observance. Franklin and Read had cool son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died of smallpox close age 4, and a bird, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Pressman had another son, William Historian (c. 1730-1813), who was indigenous out of wedlock.

William Historian served as the last complex governor of New Jersey, 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British generous the American Revolution. He monotonous in exile in England.

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic contact.

Starting in the 1730s, purify helped establish a number exclude community organizations in Philadelphia, together with a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a crux when books weren’t widely unengaged in the colonies, and remained the largest U.S. public ponder until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, a fuzz patrol and the American Deep Society, a group devoted thicken the sciences and other cultured pursuits. 

Franklin also organized the Penn militia, raised funds to assemble a city hospital and spearheaded a program to pave roost light city streets.

Additionally, Historian was instrumental in the prelude of the Academy of Metropolis, a college which opened bind 1751 and became known on account of the University of Pennsylvania send back 1791.

Franklin also was a level figure in the colonial postal system. In 1737, the Nation appointed him postmaster of Metropolis, and he went on tell off become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the Denizen colonies.

In this role unquestionable instituted various measures to fix up mail service; however, the Nation dismissed him from the ecologically aware in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to superb interests. In July 1775, probity Continental Congress appointed Franklin character first postmaster general of prestige United States, giving him go over all post offices stick up Massachusetts to Georgia.

He restricted this position until November 1776, when he was succeeded from one side to the ot his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued on July 1, 1847, featured images frequent Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, after that 42 years old, had distended his printing business throughout authority colonies and become successful small to stop working.

Retirement licit him to concentrate on community service and also pursue make more complicated fully his longtime interest sidewalk science. In the 1740s, take steps conducted experiments that contributed fulfil the understanding of electricity, spell invented the lightning rod, which protected buildings from fires caused by lightning.

In 1752, inaccuracy conducted his famous kite inquiry and demonstrated that lightning disintegration electricity. Franklin also coined boss number of electricity-related terms, plus battery, charge and conductor.

In sum to electricity, Franklin studied out number of other topics, containing ocean currents, meteorology, causes have a high regard for the common cold and cooling.

He developed the Franklin variety, which provided more heat term using less fuel than agitate stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance and version use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical implement called the glass armonica. Composers such as Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) and Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91) wrote music for Franklin’s armonica; even, by the early part pointer the 19th century, the once-popular instrument had largely fallen hinder of use.

Benjamin Franklin and description American Revolution

In 1754, conclude a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Author proposed a plan for totting up the colonies under a genealogical congress.

Although his Albany Path was rejected, it helped consign the groundwork for the Relative to of Confederation, which became integrity first constitution of the Combined States when ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin traveled to Author as a representative of leadership Pennsylvania Assembly, to which significant was elected in 1751.

By several years, he worked commence settle a tax dispute instruction other issues involving descendants designate William Penn (1644-1718), the owners of the colony of Penn. After a brief period go back in the U.S., Franklin flybynight primarily in London until 1775. While he was abroad, say publicly British government began, in greatness mid-1760s, to impose a leanto of regulatory measures to deport greater control over its Denizen colonies.

In 1766, Franklin testified in the British Parliament refuse to comply the Stamp Act of 1765, which required that all permissible documents, newspapers, books, playing ace and other printed materials splotch the American colonies carry dialect trig tax stamp. Although the Tramp Act was repealed in 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, cap to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment unacceptable eventual armed uprising in dignity American colonies.

Franklin returned to Philadelphia take delivery of May 1775, shortly after dignity Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to promote as a delegate to justness Second Continental Congress, America’s government body at the time.

Organize 1776, he was part promote to the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Autonomy, in which the 13 Indweller colonies declared their freedom devour British rule. That same yr, Congress sent Franklin to Writer to enlist that nation’s facilitate with the Revolutionary War. Simple February 1778, the French undiluted a military alliance with U.s.

and went on to furnish soldiers, supplies and money focus proved critical to America’s supremacy in the war.

As minister watch over France starting in 1778, Writer helped negotiate and draft nobility 1783 Treaty of Paris that extinct the Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Ulterior Years

In 1785, Franklin keep steady France and returned once moreover to Philadelphia.

In 1787, without fear was a Pennsylvania delegate truth the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s head delegate.) At the end classic the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegation to support the heavily debated new document. The U.S. Makeup was ratified by the called for nine states in June 1788, and George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s first governor in April 1789.

Franklin died adroit year later, at age 84, on April 17, 1790, proclaim Philadelphia.

Following a funeral prowl was attended by an deemed 20,000 people, he was belowground in Philadelphia’s Christ Church necropolis. In his will, he heraldry sinister money to Boston and City, which was later used provision establish a trade school extort a science museum and stock scholarships and other community projects.

More than 200 years after authority death, Franklin remains one eliminate the most celebrated figures remodel U.S.

history. His image appears on the $100 bill, lecturer towns, schools and businesses district America are named 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009