Benjamin Franklin

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin was one of the greatest figures, America had yet produced. He was publisher and printer, essayist and author, successful businessman and a successful general, internationally known scientist and philologist, politician and diplomats, Fellow of Royal Society because of his contributions to the “fluid” theory of theory of electricity, Doctor of laws of Oxford and St. Andrews, moralist and sage. The following paper discusses the details about his life.

Early Years

He was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston. He was the son of a soap maker, Josiah Franklin. His mother was Abiah Folger. Franklin's formal school education was ended at the age of 10; however, he was a good reader and a skilled writer. At age of 12, he started working with his older brother James and started writing essays in a newspaper printed by his brother (Hill, p. 8).

Printer and Publisher

When he was seventeen, he went to Philadelphia, and started working there as a printer. In late 1724, he moved to London. In 1726, he returned to Philadelphia, and after two years, he started to work on his own printing shop. He started producing a variety of materials, including currency, pamphlets, books etc. In 1729, he published his own newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which was very popular in his times. Franklin then published Poor Richard's Almanack, which brought fame and financial success, and was published from 1733 to 1758. The almanac was popular for its sayings (Hill, pp. 81).

Marriage and Family

In 1730, Franklin started living with a woman named Deborah Read; they had a son, Francis, and a daughter, Sarah. He also had another son William, from his legal wife, who became the colonial governor of New Jersey, and died in exile (Hill, pp. 81).

Franklin in Philadelphia

In 1730s, he developed different community organizations in the city of Philadelphia, such as a library, a fire company, and the American Philosophical Society, a society of various kinds of learned people. He also raised funds to construct a hospital in city and started a program to lighten the streets. He started Academy of Philadelphia in 1751, which later became the University of Pennsylvania ((Hill, p.60).

.Scientific Inventions

In 1775, the continental congress made him the postmaster general of the US. In the 1740s, he did various experiments that helped in the understanding of electricity. His invention of the lightning rod helped in providing protection to buildings from damage caused by lightning. In 1752, he demonstrated relation between lightning and electricity with the help of a kite (Hill, pp. 174).

Invention of Franklin Stove and Armonica

He also studied the concepts of ocean currents and common cold. He was the founder of Franklin stove, which utilized less fuel and provided more heat. He also invented bifocal eyeglasses and a musical instrument known as glass armonica (Hill, pp. 174).

Franklin in Politics

During the Revolutionary War in 1775, he served the Second Continental Congress as a delegate. In 1776, he became the member of committee that presented Declaration of Independence. In 1757, Franklin moved to ...