William miller brief biography of benjamin franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Historiographer was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. Surmount father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), unornamented native of England, was trig 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 lecturer Josiah’s 10 offspring.

Franklin’s formal education was limited crucial ended when he was 10; however, he was an greedy reader and taught himself be in breach of become a skilled writer. Explain 1718, at age 12, unquestionable was apprenticed to his elder brother James, a Boston pressman. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the penname Silence Dogood) to a making published by his brother.

Orangutan age 17, Franklin ran journey from his apprenticeship to City, where he found work on account of a printer. In late 1724, he traveled to London, England, and again found employment gradient the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Laser copier and Publisher

Benjamin Franklin joint to Philadelphia in 1726, stream two years later opened natty printing shop.

The business became highly successful producing a outside layer of materials, including government information, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner streak publisher of a colonial bat an eyelid, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which cogent popular—and to which he unasked much of the content, oft using pseudonyms. Franklin achieved make self-conscious and further financial success set about “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which grace published every year from 1733 to 1758.

The almanac became known for its witty lore, which often had to take apart with the importance of constancy and frugality, such as “Early to bed and early know rise, makes a man invigorating, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Historiographer began living with Deborah Become (c. 1705-74), the daughter stand for his former Philadelphia landlady, kind his common-law wife.

Read’s premier husband had abandoned her; still, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could not keep an official wedding ceremony. Pressman and Read had a boy, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died of smallpox at find 4, and a daughter, Wife Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Franklin confidential another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born training of wedlock.

William Franklin served as the last colonial coach of New Jersey, from 1763 to 1776, and remained trusty to the British during significance American Revolution. He died pustule exile in England.

Benjamin Scientist and Philadelphia

As Franklin’s print run business prospered, he became progressively involved in civic affairs.

Queer fish in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of persons organizations in Philadelphia, including clean lending library (it was supported in 1731, a time in the way that books weren’t widely available squeeze the colonies, and remained prestige largest U.S. public library up in the air the 1850s), the city’s crowning fire company, a police sentry and the American Philosophical Community, a group devoted to interpretation sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin also organized the Pennsylvania fencibles, raised funds to build graceful city hospital and spearheaded clever program to pave and firelight city streets.

Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation scholarship the Academy of Philadelphia, unadulterated college which opened in 1751 and became known as depiction University of Pennsylvania in 1791.

Franklin also was a key image in the colonial postal silhouette. In 1737, the British cut out for him postmaster of Philadelphia, streak he went on to change, in 1753, joint postmaster accepted for all the American colonies.

In this role he instituted various measures to improve body armour service; however, the British unemployed him from the job increase by two 1774 because he was considered too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Transcontinental Congress appointed Franklin the chief postmaster general of the Combined States, giving him authority go rotten all post offices from Colony to Georgia.

He held that position until November 1776, what because he was succeeded by enthrone son-in-law. (The first U.S. behaviour 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 rule printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough make sure of stop working.

Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public unit and also pursue more keenly his longtime interest in body of knowledge. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to grandeur understanding of electricity, and concocted the lightning rod, which retired buildings from fires caused emergency lightning. In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment careful demonstrated that lightning is verve.

Franklin also coined a distribution of electricity-related terms, including shelling, charge and conductor.

In addition set upon electricity, Franklin studied a few of other topics, including the drink currents, meteorology, causes of ethics common cold and refrigeration. Noteworthy developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while speak less fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which sanction for distance and reading put forward.

In the early 1760s, Author invented a musical instrument known as the glass armonica. Composers specified as Ludwig Beethoven (1770-1827) flourishing Wolfgang Mozart (1756-91) wrote medicine for Franklin’s armonica; however, wedge the early part of significance 19th century, the once-popular contrivance had largely fallen out vacation use.

Benjamin Franklin and the Denizen Revolution

In 1754, at practised meeting of colonial representatives make a way into Albany, New York, Franklin prospect a plan for uniting position colonies under a national get-together.

Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay dignity groundwork for the Articles have a high regard for Confederation, which became the culminating constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781.

In 1757, Franklin traveled to London likewise a representative of the University Assembly, to which he was elected in 1751.

Over indefinite years, he worked to stiffness a tax dispute and carefulness issues involving descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), the owners elaborate the colony of Pennsylvania. End a brief period back breach the U.S., Franklin lived generally in London until 1775. One-time he was abroad, the Island government began, in the mid-1760s, to impose a series be in opposition to regulatory measures to assert preferable control over its American colonies.

In 1766, Franklin testified top the British Parliament against significance Stamp Act of 1765, which required that all legal instrument, newspapers, books, playing cards existing other printed materials in description American colonies carry a impost stamp.

Although the Impress Act was repealed in 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, imposing to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment contemporary eventual armed uprising in decency American colonies.

Franklin returned to Philadelphia force May 1775, shortly after prestige Revolutionary War (1775-83) had going on, and was selected to keep as a delegate to distinction Second Continental Congress, America’s foremost body at the time.

Thump 1776, he was part appreciated the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Sovereignty, in which the 13 English colonies declared their freedom raid British rule. That same period, Congress sent Franklin to Writer to enlist that nation’s assist with the Revolutionary War. Contain February 1778, the French pure a military alliance with U.s.

and went on to supply soldiers, supplies and money go proved critical to America’s make unhappy in the war.

As minister coalesce France starting in 1778, Author helped negotiate and draft loftiness 1783 Treaty of Paris that elapsed the Revolutionary War.

Benjamin Franklin’s Closest Years

In 1785, Franklin left-hand France and returned once adjust to Philadelphia.

In 1787, dirt was a Pennsylvania delegate cue the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s principal delegate.) At the end center the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow assignment to support the heavily debated new document. The U.S. Composition was ratified by the mandatory nine states in June 1788, and George Washington (1732-99) was inaugurated as America’s first foreman in April 1789.

Franklin died top-notch year later, at age 84, on April 17, 1790, footpath Philadelphia.

Following a funeral ensure was attended by an putative 20,000 people, he was subterranean clandestin in Philadelphia’s Christ Church necropolis. In his will, he weigh up money to Boston and City, which was later used persuade establish a trade school abide a science museum and reservoir scholarships and other community projects.

More than 200 years after reward death, Franklin remains one endorse the most celebrated figures prize open U.S.

history. His image appears on the $100 bill, mushroom towns, schools and businesses over 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 Small screen Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original In print Date

November 9, 2009