Subject:

Comments:
: : : i need help with ben : : : for a project : : : thank you!!!!! : Here you are! : Childhood : : Benjamin Franklin was born on the 17th of January 1706. Benjamin was the 10th son, and 15th child, of 17 children in the family. His father was Josiah Franklin, who lived in Boston, Machusetts with his second wife, Abiah Folger and his family. Josiah was soap and candlemaker and he wanted his son, Benjamin to follow in his footsteps, career wise. Benjamin Franklin learned to read at an early age, which helped him in his career in the future. By the time he was 10 years old, Franklin was working for his father to be a soap and candlemaker. However, Benjamin didn't want to be a soap and candlemaker like his father, he wanted to write in a newspaper, and just two years later, Franklin was apprenticed to his brother James, a printer. : : For five years, Franklin tried to master the printers' trade. During this time, he also tried to improve his reading and writing. Franklin read lots of classical books that improved his writing style. One night, Franklin slipped a letter, signed "Silence Dogood," under the door of his brother's newspaper shop, the New England Courant. That letter and the next 13 written by Franklin were published often. The essays were widely read and highly praised for the way he approached and described the subjects of the letters. : When Benjamin was 17 left Boston and traveled to Philadelphia, to again work in the printing trade. He left because of a quarrel with his brother. It was there, in Philadelphia where he formed a friendship with the Pennsylvania governor, Sir William Keith. At Sir Keith's suggestion, Franklin decided to go into business for himself. Sir Keith offered to arrange letters of credit and introduction to the bank for Franklin's trip to London to purchase printing equipment. Unfortunately, Sir Keith proved undependable, and Franklin arrived in London with no money. However, he quickly found a in two of London's largest printing houses, and after two years, he earned enough money to return to America. : At the age of 20, Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726 and resumed his printing trade. By 1730, Franklin had his own successful business. That same year, he married a woman he met before his trip to England, Deborah Read. Together they had a son, who died at the age of four and a daughter, who lived longer than her parents did. : Benjamin's Inventions/Business : One of Franklin's businesses, moneymaking ideas included the purchase of the Pennsylvania Gazette, which, after Benjamin improved it, was considered one of the best colonial newspapers. Also, another idea was Poor Richard's Almanac, written under the false name, Richard Saunders, and published from 1732 to 1757Anothr ideas was the printing of Pennsylvania's paper currency. In 1731, Franklin founded what is considered to be the first public library in USA. Also, during the next several years, Franklin was involved in forming the first fire department, a police force, and the Academy of Philadelphia, which then became the University of Pennsylvania. Around 1744, Franklin invented a stove, which reduced the amount of chimney smoke. It is called the Franklin Stove, and it is still in use today! : In the 1740's, Franklin began experimenting with electricity; those experiments led to the invention of the lightning rod. By 1748, Franklin had sold his printing business to dedicate all his time to his scientific experiments. His famous electricity experiment, which included flying a kite during a lightning storm, took place in 1752. In addition to his science projects, Franklin was elected to the Pennsylvania Congregation and held the position for 14 years. In 1753, he was appointed deputy postmaster general. The next year, Franklin became a Pennsylvania delegate to the intercolonial congress, which met in Albany. His idea to unite the colonies as a defense against the French and native Americans was considered rash and unwanted. : In 1775, with war seemingly unavoidable, Franklin returned to America. Shortly after that, he was made a member of the Second Continental Congress and helped plan the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson supposedly stated that the only reason Franklin didn't write the entire Declaration was because he would include too many jokes. In 1757at the age of 51, Franklin was sent to England to request to the king for the right to stop taxes. He stayed in England for the next five years, as the representative of the American colonies. Two years later, Franklin returned to England as an agent of Pennsylvania, to discuss a new contract. He was able to secure the repeal of the Stamp Act, but Parliament continued to force taxes on the colonies, it was 1764. : In December 1776, Franklin aged 71, traveled to France to successfully settle a treaty of trade and defensive ociation. He remained in France for nine years, working on trade treaties. Franklin became a hero to the French; Diplomats and nobles wanted his company, Louis XVI honored him, and his portrait was placed on everything from chamber pots (toilets) to boxes. : Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1785. Two years later he became a member of the Constitutional Convention. Franklin was made to stay in bed during the final year of his life. As one of his final public acts, he signed a petition to the U.S. Congress urging the end of slavery, this happened just two months before his death. Benjamin Franklin died on the 17th of April 1790. : Benjamin Franklin was a great man. Not only was he a talented inventor but he was also a man of great vision, which can be seen by his involvement of public works. Eg. Fire Department, Police Department, Post Office but perhaps most of all shown by his signature on the Declaration of Independence and also on the petitions for Congress to end slavery! Kate Riley thinks that Benjamin Franklin changed the world, he helped end slavery and also he invented the stove and Lightning Rod, which in a way those things changed the way of living for many people. : Other Inventions : : One of his inventions was an iron furnace stove. It allowed people to warm their homes less dangerously and with less wood. The furnace stove that he invented is called a Franklin stove. Another invention formed because as postmaster, Ben had to figure out routes for delivering the mail. He went out riding in his carriage to measure the routes and needed a way to keep track of the distance. He invented a simple odometer and attached it to his carriage. : : : The Lightning Rod : Have you ever watched lightning during a storm? Have you ever wondered about its power? Have you ever wanted to know more about it? Ben Franklin did. Everyone knows the story of Ben's famous kite flight. Although he made important discoveries and advancements, Ben did not "invent" electricity. He did, however, invent the lightning rod that protected buildings and ships from lightning damage. : : Ben suspected that lightning was an electrical current in nature, and he wanted to see if he was right. One way to test his idea would be to see if the lightning would p through metal. He decided to use a metal key and looked around for a way to get the key up near the lightning. As you probably already know, he used a child's toy, a kite, to prove that lightning is really a stream of electrified air, known today as plasma. His famous stormy kite flight in June, 1752, led him to extend many of the terms that we still use today when we talk about electricity, battery, conductor, condenser, charge, discharge, uncharged, negative, minus, plus, electric shock, and electrician. : Ben understood that lightning was very powerful, and he also knew that it was dangerous. That's why he also figured out a way to protect people, buildings, and ships from it, the lightning rod. : Have you ever heard of Ben's lightning bells? Benjamin was always looking for new ideas about electricity, since it was one of his favorite pastimes. : Although electricity was just a hobby for Benjamin Franklin, he made many important contributions. Later scientists, like Michael Faraday and Thomas A. Edison, continued to study electricity using many of Ben's ideas. Even today, scientists are still studying electricity and learning more about it. Ben Franklin would be amazed at how important his stormy kite flight really was! : : Bibliography : 1. Yahoo.com.au : 2. Britannica Standard Edition : 3. Altavista : : : :

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: