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I believe there is one Supreme most perfect being... I believe He is pleased and delights in the happiness of those He has created, and since without virtue man can have no happiness in this world, I firmly believe He delights to see me virtuous.
― Benjamin Franklin


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Benjamin Franklin (January 17th, 1706 – April 17th, 1790) was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independance. He was also an inventor, printer, scientist, and a publisher. He was noted for the invention of the bifocals aka the first form of glasses and did the famous experiment that harnessed electricity to a key on a kite. With that experiment he discovered the power of lightning and what it could do in it's wake. Many other of his inventions consisted of the first form of a stove, lightning rods to protect people's homes and even swim fins.

Early Life[]

Ben Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706. His father was a chandler (someone who makes candles and soap). Ben had sixteen brothers and sisters and was the youngest boy in the family. Young Ben had very little formal education. At the age of 10, he was forced to leave school in order to work with his dad. A few years later, he became a printer's apprentice for his brother James. Although Ben was denied a traditional education, he loved to read, and he became quite knowledgeable over the years by reading lots of books.

Ben ran away from Boston when he was 17, breaking his apprenticeship with his brother. He went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he worked as a printer.

Franklin spent the next several years working at various jobs in London and Philadelphia. In 1729, Franklin became the publisher of a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette. As a newspaper publisher, Franklin became a prominent voice in Pennsylvania politics and his reputation began to grow throughout the American colonies. In the 1750s and 1760s, Franklin spent much of his time in London, England. At first, he acted as the voice of the Pennsylvania colonists to the British Parliament, mostly protesting the influence of the Penn family on the colony. Later, he represented all of the American colonies when he spoke out against the much hated Stamp Act of 1765. His arguments eventually led to the repeal of the act by Parliament.

In 1732, Franklin first published Poor Richard's Almanack. Poor Richard's Almanack was a yearly pamphlet that Franklin wrote under the pseudonym (fake name) of "Richard Saunders", also known as "Poor Richard." The pamphlet included all sorts of interesting information including poems, a calendar, interesting sayings, weather predictions, and scientific information. Franklin made a good income by selling the pamphlet. He published up to 10,000 copies a year for the next 25 years.

American Revolution[]

Franklin was still living in London as the Revolutionary War approached. It was Franklin who first suggested that the colonies meet at the First Continental Congress in 1774. Franklin later delivered their petition to King George III of England. In 1775, Franklin returned to Philadelphia and was elected as the Pennsylvania delegate to the Second Continental Congress. By this time the Revolutionary War had begun. Franklin played an important role in the early part of the Revolutionary War. He was part of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence and was the nation's first Postmaster General.

In 1776, Ben Franklin traveled to France. He spent the next few years gathering support in France for the American Revolution. In 1778, France allied with the colonies in their fight against England. The alliance with France would prove to be one of the most important factors in the American victory. Franklin remained in France throughout the war. In 1783, he helped to negotiate an end to the Revolutionary War with the Treaty of Paris.

Kite Experiment[]

According to the 1767 Priestley account, Franklin realized the dangers of using conductive rods and instead used the conductivity of a wet hemp string attached to a kite. This allowed him to stay on the ground while his son assisted him to fly the kite from the shelter of a nearby shed. This enabled Franklin and his son to keep the silk string of the kite dry to insulate them while the hemp string to the kite was allowed to get wet in the rain to provide conductivity. A house key belonging to Benjamin Loxley was attached to the hemp string and connected to a Leyden jar; a silk string was attached to this. "At this key he charged phials, and from the electric fire thus obtained, he kindled spirits, and performed all other electrical experiments which are usually exhibited by an excited globe or tube." The kite was not hit by visible lightning; had it been, Franklin would almost certainly have been killed. However, Franklin did notice that loose threads of the kite string were repelling each other and deduced that the Leyden jar was being charged. He moved his hand near the key and observed an electric spark,[6] proving the electric nature of lightning.

Inventions[]

  • The Lightning Rod
  • Bifocals
  • Franklin stove
  • The Odometer
  • Glass Harmonica
  • Swim Fins
  • Urinary Catheter

Later Life and Death[]

Franklin returned from France to the United States in 1785. He participated in the Constitutional Convention and became the only founding father to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. He also served as the President of Pennsylvania (like the governor). Franklin died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790.

Trivia[]

  • Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the United States.
  • Later in life, Ben set his slaves free and became a fighter for the freedom of slaves, making him the only founding father to free his slaves while alive.
  • He didn't patent any of his many inventions, letting people use his ideas for free.
  • He was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.
  • As a teenager, Franklin had several letters published in his brother's newspaper under the fake name "Silence Dogood."
  • Ben once wrote an entire essay on flatulence titled "Fart Proudly".
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