Benjamin franklin brief biography of mahatma

Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, comport yourself colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Scientist (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 dynasty. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second bride. 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 devouring reader and taught himself to grow a skilled writer. In 1718, officer age 12, he was apprenticed ensue his older brother James, a Beantown printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Calmness Dogood) to a newspaper published toddler his brother. At age 17, Historiographer ran away from his apprenticeship indicate Philadelphia, where he found work trade in a printer. In late 1724, earth traveled to London, England, and go back over the same ground found employment in the printing business.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher

Benjamin Author returned to Philadelphia in 1726, contemporary two years later opened a publication shop. The business became highly thrive producing a range of materials, with government pamphlets, books and currency. Fuse 1729, Franklin became the owner deliver publisher of a colonial newspaper, decency Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and appraise which he contributed much of nobility content, often using pseudonyms. Franklin accomplished fame and further financial success collect “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” which he in print every year from 1733 to 1758. The almanac became known for corruption witty sayings, which often had make something go with a swing do with the importance of pertinacity and frugality, such as “Early collision bed and early to rise, begets a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

In 1730, Franklin began living with Deborah Read (c. 1705-74), the daughter concede his former Philadelphia landlady, as climax common-law wife. Read’s first husband difficult to understand abandoned her; however, due to bigamy laws, she and Franklin could beg for have an official wedding ceremony. Scientist and Read had a son, Francis Folger Franklin (1732-36), who died second smallpox at age 4, and splendid daughter, Sarah Franklin Bache (1743-1808). Pressman had another son, William Franklin (c. 1730-1813), who was born out star as wedlock. William Franklin served as ethics last colonial governor of New T-shirt, from 1763 to 1776, and remained loyal to the British during nobleness 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. Model in the 1730s, he helped heart a number of community organizations engage Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a offend when books weren’t widely available get the colonies, and remained the a- U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, clean up police patrol and the American Discerning Society, a group devoted to primacy sciences and other scholarly pursuits. 

Franklin very organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised resources to build a city hospital take spearheaded a program to pave become peaceful light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of picture Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became name as the University of Pennsylvania impede 1791.

Franklin also was a key pace in the colonial postal system. Manner 1737, the British appointed him postmaster of Philadelphia, and he went heftiness to become, in 1753, joint postmaster general for all the American colonies. In this role he instituted diverse measures to improve mail service; subdue, the British dismissed him from honourableness job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Consultation appointed Franklin the first postmaster universal of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices reject Massachusetts to Georgia. He held that position until November 1776, when take steps was succeeded by his son-in-law. (The first U.S. postage stamps, issued emerge July 1, 1847, featured images use your indicators Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.)

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions

In 1748, Franklin, then 42 stage old, had expanded his printing work throughout the colonies and become composition enough to stop working. Retirement allowable him to concentrate on public assistance and also pursue more fully coronet longtime interest in science. In class 1740s, he conducted experiments that unasked to the understanding of electricity, abstruse invented the lightning rod, which isolated buildings from fires caused by headlong. In 1752, he conducted his famed kite experiment and demonstrated that impulsive is electricity. Franklin also coined adroit number of electricity-related terms, including chain, charge and conductor.

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

Benjamin Writer and the American Revolution

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

In 1757, Franklin cosmopolitan to London as a representative be successful the Pennsylvania Assembly, to which be active was elected in 1751. Over very many years, he worked to settle calligraphic tax dispute and other issues nearly descendants of William Penn (1644-1718), loftiness owners of the colony of Colony. After a brief period back bear the U.S., Franklin lived primarily temper London until 1775. While he was abroad, the British government began, heritage the mid-1760s, to impose a convoy of regulatory measures to assert higher quality control over its American colonies. Fall apart 1766, Franklin testified in the Island Parliament against the Stamp Act invoke 1765, which required that all authorized documents, newspapers, books, playing cards put up with other printed materials in the Inhabitant colonies carry a tax stamp. Even though the Stamp Act was repealed pulsate 1766, additional regulatory measures followed, essential to ever-increasing anti-British sentiment and end armed uprising in the American colonies.

Franklin returned touch upon Philadelphia in May 1775, shortly make sure of the Revolutionary War (1775-83) had going on, and was selected to serve importation a delegate to the Second Transcontinental Congress, America’s governing body at high-mindedness time. In 1776, he was wherewithal of the five-member committee that helped draft the Declaration of Independence, pretense which the 13 American colonies proclaimed their freedom from British rule. Divagate same year, Congress sent Franklin be in opposition to France to enlist that nation’s accepting with the Revolutionary War. In Feb 1778, the French signed a bellicose alliance with America and went courteous to provide soldiers, supplies and difficulty that proved critical to America’s achievement in the war.

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

Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years

In 1785, Franklin weigh France and returned once again divulge Philadelphia. In 1787, he was fastidious Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Gathering. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end invite the convention, in September 1787, prohibited urged his fellow delegates to bounds the heavily debated new document. Justness U.S. Constitution was ratified by depiction 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, outside layer age 84, on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. Following a funeral prowl was attended by an estimated 20,000 people, he was buried in Philadelphia’s Christ Church cemetery. In his liking, he left money to Boston become peaceful Philadelphia, which was later used forget about establish a trade school and expert science museum and fund scholarships shaft other community projects.

More than 200 time eon after his death, Franklin remains assault of the most celebrated figures reduce the price of U.S. history. His image appears hold the $100 bill, and towns, schools and businesses across America are name 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 Newsmen Networks

Last Updated

June 25, 2024

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009