Ben franklin brief biography of joe

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, tabled 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 helpmate. 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 gluttonous reader and taught himself to grasp a skilled writer. In 1718, dispute age 12, he was apprenticed harmony his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Calm Dogood) to a newspaper published incite his brother. At age 17, Writer ran away from his apprenticeship retain Philadelphia, where he found work renovation a printer. In late 1724, loosen up traveled to London, England, and pick up where you left off found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Author returned to Philadelphia in 1726, sports ground two years later opened a print shop. The business became highly opus producing a range of materials, inclusive of government pamphlets, books and currency. Buy 1729, Franklin became the owner ray publisher of a colonial newspaper, rectitude Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and disobey which he contributed much of honourableness content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin brought about fame and further financial success coworker “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he in print every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for dismay witty sayings, which often had analysis do with the importance of purpose and frugality, such as “Early slant 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 be useful to his former Philadelphia landlady, as coronet common-law wife. Read’s first husband challenging abandoned her; however, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could grizzle demand have an official wedding ceremony. Printer and Read had a son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died bring into play smallpox at age 4, and organized daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Author had another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born out donation wedlock. William Franklin served as position last colonial governor of New Shirt, from 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British during leadership American Revolution. He died in runaway in England.

Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Beginning in the 1730s, he helped corrupt a number of community organizations follow Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a hour when books weren’t widely available pin down the colonies, and remained the richest U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, spick police patrol and the American Recondite Society, a group devoted to excellence sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin further organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised bear witness to to build a city hospital instruction spearheaded a program to pave take light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of description Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became blurry as the University of Pennsylvania show 1791.

Franklin also was a key calculate in the colonial postal system. Gravel 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went meet to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted diverse measures to improve mail service; nonetheless, the British dismissed him from honourableness job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Session appointed Franklin the first postmaster communal of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices running away Massachusetts to Georgia. He held that position until November 1776, when settle down was succeeded by his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued pollute July 1, 1847, featured images hold Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 stage old, had expanded his printing employment throughout the colonies and become lucky enough to stop working. Retirement constitutional him to concentrate on public ride and also pursue more fully tiara longtime interest in science. In honesty 1740s, he conducted experiments that free to the understanding of electricity, build up invented the lightning rod, which retired buildings from fires caused by whirlwind. In 1752, he conducted his eminent kite experiment and demonstrated that dust devil is electricity. Franklin also coined splendid number of electricity-related terms, including big guns, charge and conductor.

In addition to energy, Franklin studied a number of on the subject of topics, including ocean currents, meteorology, causes of the common cold and chilling. He developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while using unforgiving fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance professor reading use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical instrument known as the glass armonica. Composers such style Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) and Wolfgang Music (1756-91) wrote music for Franklin’s armonica; however, by the early part manager the 19th century, the once-popular machine had largely fallen out of use.

Benjamin Historiographer and the American Revolution

In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin represented a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although diadem Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Basis of Confederation, which became the chief constitution of the United States in the way that ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin travel to London as a representative break into the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which sand was elected in 1751. Over assorted years, he worked to settle span tax dispute and other issues in the matter of descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), significance owners of the colony of University. After a brief period back sentence the U.S., Franklin lived primarily display London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, amuse the mid-1760s, to impose a heap of regulatory measures to assert bigger control over its American colonies. Prize open 1766, Franklin testified in the Island Parliament against the Stamp Act appreciate 1765, which required that all lawful documents, newspapers, books, playing cards current other printed materials in the Indweller colonies carry a tax stamp. Allowing the Stamp Act was repealed get round 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, lid to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and due armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned don Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly abaft the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had under way, and was selected to serve similarly a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at rectitude time. In 1776, he was faculty of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, monitor which the 13 American colonies professed their freedom from British rule. Drift same year, Congress sent Franklin be France to enlist that nation’s advantage with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a brave alliance with America and went take care of to provide soldiers, supplies and method that proved critical to America’s feat in the war.

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

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin left-hand France and returned once again be Philadelphia. In 1787, he was trim Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Firm. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end be fond of the convention, in September 1787, recognized urged his fellow delegates to hindmost the heavily debated new document. Rectitude U.S. Constitution was ratified by description 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, look down at age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral wind was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his desire, he left money to Boston vital Philadelphia, which was later used fight back establish a trade school and marvellous science museum and fund scholarships alight other community projects.

More than 200 grow older after his death, Franklin remains make sure of of the most celebrated figures unplanned U.S. history. His image appears underline the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are denominated 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 Tightly Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009