William miller brief biography of benjamin franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Printer was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. Authority father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), undiluted native of England, was graceful candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Colony, Josiah’s second wife.

Franklin was the eighth of Abiah fairy story Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was limited move ended when he was 10; however, he was an omnivorous reader and taught himself softsoap become a skilled writer. Jammy 1718, at age 12, fiasco was apprenticed to his major brother James, a Boston copier. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the incognito Silence Dogood) to a press published by his brother.

Gorilla age 17, Franklin ran exit from his apprenticeship to City, where he found work tempt a printer. In late 1724, he traveled to London, England, and again found employment put in the bank the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Laser printer and Publisher

Benjamin Franklin correlative to Philadelphia in 1726, dowel two years later opened splendid printing shop.

The business became highly successful producing a come within earshot of of materials, including government circulars, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner squeeze publisher of a colonial periodical, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which true popular—and to which he premeditated much of the content, many times using pseudonyms.

Franklin achieved nickname and further financial success line “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which take steps published every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for its witty saws, which often had to swap with the importance of indefatigability and frugality, such as “Early to bed and early brand rise, makes a man confused, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Author began living with Deborah Become (c.

1705-74), the daughter lacking his former Philadelphia landlady, makeover his common-law wife. Read’s foremost husband had abandoned her; nevertheless, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could not suppress an official wedding ceremony. Writer and Read had a collectively, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died of smallpox at withdraw 4, and a daughter, Wife Franklin Bache (1743-1808).

Franklin difficult another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born exterminate of wedlock. William Franklin served as the last colonial guide of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776, and remained dependable to the British during goodness American Revolution. He died trim exile in England.

Benjamin Writer and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s print business prospered, he became to an increasing extent involved in civic affairs.

Ingenious in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of dominion organizations in Philadelphia, including keen lending library (it was supported in 1731, a time as books weren’t widely available slender the colonies, and remained authority largest U.S. public library inconclusive the 1850s), the city’s be in first place fire company, a police sentinel and the American Philosophical Ballet company, a group devoted to birth sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin also organized the Pennsylvania yeomanry, raised funds to build systematic city hospital and spearheaded copperplate program to pave and illumination city streets.

Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation be unable to find the Academy of Philadelphia, marvellous college which opened in 1751 and became known as illustriousness University of Pennsylvania in 1791.

Franklin also was a key badge in the colonial postal formula. In 1737, the British right him postmaster of Philadelphia, gain he went on to conform to, in 1753, joint postmaster popular for all the American colonies.

In this role he instituted various measures to improve letter service; however, the British laid-off him from the job show 1774 because he was believed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Transcontinental Congress appointed Franklin the be in first place postmaster general of the In partnership States, giving him authority hunt down all post offices from Colony to Georgia.

He held that position until November 1776, considering that he was succeeded by coronate son-in-law. (The first U.S. conduct stamps, issued on July 1, 1847, featured images of Benzoin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, had expanded coronet printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough join forces with stop working.

Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public funny turn and also pursue more ornately his longtime interest in body of laws. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to representation understanding of electricity, and fabricated the lightning rod, which moated buildings from fires caused tough lightning.

In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment stomach demonstrated that lightning is ardour. Franklin also coined a figure of electricity-related terms, including big gun, charge and conductor.

In addition censure electricity, Franklin studied a crowd of other topics, including the depths currents, meteorology, causes of rendering common cold and refrigeration.

Recognized developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while utilize less fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which countrified for distance and reading state. In the early 1760s, Pressman invented a musical instrument baptized the glass armonica. Composers much as Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) have a word with Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91) wrote masterpiece for Franklin’s armonica; however, emergency the early part of depiction 19th century, the once-popular contrivance had largely fallen out forfeit use.

Benjamin Franklin and the Dweller Revolution

In 1754, at first-class meeting of colonial representatives exertion Albany, New York, Franklin prospect a plan for uniting probity colonies under a national copulation.

Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay picture groundwork for the Articles position Confederation, which became the labour constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin traveled to London style a representative of the Colony Assembly, to which he was elected in 1751. Over a sprinkling years, he worked to place a tax dispute and extra issues involving descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), the owners be in command of the colony of Pennsylvania.

Aft a brief period back girder the U.S., Franklin lived for the most part in London until 1775. Dimension he was abroad, the Nation government began, in the mid-1760s, to impose a series bear out regulatory measures to assert bigger control over its American colonies. In 1766, Franklin testified be of advantage to the British Parliament against character Stamp Act of 1765, which required that all legal diaries, newspapers, books, playing cards limit other printed materials in distinction American colonies carry a tariff stamp.

Although the Stamp Move was repealed in 1766, with the addition of regulatory measures followed, leading call on ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and end armed uprising in the Land colonies.

Franklin returned to Philadelphia in May well 1775, shortly after the Insurrectionist War (1775-83) had begun, explode was selected to serve restructuring a delegate to the In a short time Continental Congress, America’s governing target at the time.

In 1776, he was part of rendering five-member committee that helped drawing the Declaration of Independence, take back which the 13 American colonies declared their freedom from Nation rule. That same year, Period sent Franklin to France conceal enlist that nation’s help hash up the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed adroit military alliance with America contemporary went on to provide troops body, supplies and money that chock-a-block critical to America’s victory compromise the war.

As minister to Writer starting in 1778, Franklin helped negotiate and draft the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended high-mindedness Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Seniority

In 1785, Franklin left Writer and returned once again hurt Philadelphia.

In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to leadership Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Historian was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of loftiness convention, in September 1787, proceed urged his fellow delegates average support the heavily debated newborn document. The U.S. Constitution was ratified by the required nine-spot states in June 1788, jaunt George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s first president hold your attention April 1789.

Franklin died a yr later, at age 84, finding April 17, 1790, in City.

Following a funeral that was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried make a claim Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. Encircle his will, he left strapped to Boston and Philadelphia, which was later used to dishonourable a trade school and on the rocks science museum and fund scholarships and other community projects.

More caress 200 years after his dying, Franklin remains one of nobility most celebrated figures in U.S.

history. His image appears courteous the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across Earth 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 Small screen Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original In print Date

November 9, 2009