Early Life and Education
– Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
– He attended Boston Latin School but did not graduate.
– Franklin’s schooling ended when he was ten, and he became an apprentice to his brother James, a printer.
– At the age of 15, Franklin started writing under the pseudonym Silence Dogood.
– Franklin left his apprenticeship without his brother’s permission and became a fugitive.
Move to Philadelphia and Achievements
– At the age of 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia seeking new opportunities.
– He worked in several printing shops in Philadelphia but was not satisfied with the prospects.
– Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith convinced Franklin to go to London to establish another newspaper.
– Franklin discovered that Keith’s promises were empty and worked as a typesetter in a print shop in London.
– Franklin returned to Philadelphia after a couple of years and started his own printing business.
– Benjamin Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia.
– He published the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s Almanack.
– Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
– He was the first postmaster general of the United States.
– Franklin was an accomplished scientist, inventor, and diplomat, known for his studies of electricity and inventions like the lightning rod and bifocals.
Legacy and Honors
– Franklin earned the title of ‘The First American’ for his early campaigning for colonial unity.
– He is honored on the $100 bill and has warships, towns, counties, and educational institutions named after him.
– Franklin’s life and achievements have seen him honored with a portrait in the Oval Office.
– The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, a collection of his letters and documents, have been published by the American Philosophical Society and Yale University.
– Franklin’s status as one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers continues to be recognized and celebrated.
Junto, Library, and Newspaperman
– In 1727, Franklin formed the Junto, a group of aspiring artisans and tradesmen.
– The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day and gave rise to many organizations in Philadelphia.
– The Junto was modeled after English coffeehouses that spread Enlightenment ideas.
– The members of the Junto created a library from their own books.
– Franklin conceived the idea of a subscription library, which led to the birth of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
– Franklin set up a printing house in partnership with Hugh Meredith in 1728.
– He became the publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette, a newspaper in Philadelphia.
– Franklin published the first German-language newspaper in America, Die Philadelphische Zeitung, in 1732.
– Franklin used the printing press to instruct colonial Americans in moral virtue and believed in the public-service duty of the press.
Personal Life and Relationships
– At age 17, Franklin proposed to 15-year-old Deborah Read.
– Deborah’s mother initially declined Franklin’s request to marry her daughter.
– While Franklin was in London, Deborah married a man named John Rodgers.
– Rodgers avoided his debts and left Deborah in a regrettable situation.
– Franklin and Deborah eventually entered into a common-law marriage.
– Franklin established a common-law marriage with Deborah on September 1, 1730.
– They had two children together, Francis Folger Franklin and Sarah Sally Franklin.
– Deborah died of a stroke on December 14, 1774, while Franklin was on a mission to Great Britain. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath, a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.
Benjamin Franklin | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Joseph Duplessis, 1778 | |
| 6th President of Pennsylvania | |
| In office October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788 | |
| Vice President | |
| Preceded by | John Dickinson |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Mifflin |
| United States Minister to Sweden | |
| In office September 28, 1782 – April 3, 1783 | |
| Appointed by | Congress of the Confederation |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Russell |
| United States Minister to France | |
| In office March 23, 1779 – May 17, 1785 | |
| Appointed by | Continental Congress |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Jefferson |
| 1st United States Postmaster General | |
| In office July 26, 1775 – November 7, 1776 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Richard Bache |
| Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Second Continental Congress | |
| In office May 1775 – October 1776 | |
| Postmaster General of British America | |
| In office August 10, 1753 – January 31, 1774 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly | |
| In office May 1764 – October 1764 | |
| Preceded by | Isaac Norris |
| Succeeded by | Isaac Norris |
| 2nd President of the University of Pennsylvania | |
| In office 1749–1754 | |
| Preceded by | George Whitefield |
| Succeeded by | William Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] Boston, Massachusetts Bay, British America |
| Died | April 17, 1790 (aged 84) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
| Parents | |
| Education | Boston Latin School |
| Signature |  |
Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the policies of the British Parliament and the Crown.
He pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected its president in 1769. He was appointed deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network.
He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. Franklin became a hero in America when, as an agent in London for several colonies, he spearheaded the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired as the first U.S. ambassador to France and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco–American relations. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing French aid.
From 1785 to 1788, he served as President of Pennsylvania. At some points in his life, he owned slaves and ran "for sale" ads for slaves in his newspaper, but by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery, became an active abolitionist, and promoted the education and integration of African Americans into U.S. society.
As a scientist, his studies of electricity made him a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics. He also charted and named the Gulf Stream current. His numerous important inventions include the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity. Foundational in defining the American ethos, Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."
His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on the $100 bill, warships, and the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, and corporations, as well as numerous cultural references and a portrait in the Oval Office. His more than 30,000 letters and documents have been collected in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin.
