Ben Franklin: Early Life
In his many careers as a printer, moralist, essayist, civic leader, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, and philosopher, for later generations of Americans he became both a spokesman and a model for the national character. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Jan. 17, 1706, into a religious Puritan household. His father, Josiah, was a candlemaker and a skillful mechanic. His mother, Abiah Ben’s parents raised thirteen children--the survivors of Josiah’s seventeen children by two wives (#1).
Printer & Writer
Franklin left school at ten years old when he was pressed into his father's trade. At twelve Ben was apprenticed to his half brother James, a printer of The New England Courant. He
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They aspired to build their own businesses, insure the growth of Philadelphia, and improve the quality of its life. Franklin led the Junto in founding a library (1731), fire company (1736), learned society (1743), college (later the University of Pennsylvania, 1749), and an insurance company and a hospital (1751). The group also carried out plans for paving, cleaning, and lighting the streets and for making them safe by organizing an efficient night watch. They even formed a voluntary militia (#1).
Franklin had steadily extended his own knowledge by study of foreign languages, philosophy, and science. He repeated experiments of other scientists and added his own ideas that led to inventions of the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglasses, and a glass harmonica. The phenomenon of electricity interested him deeply, in 1748 he turned his printing business over to his foreman, intending to devote his life to science (#5). Experiments he proposed, showed that lightning was in fact a form of electricity. Later that year his famous kite experiment, in which he flew a kite with the wire attached to a key during a thunderstorm, further established that laboratory-produced static electricity was akin to a previously mysterious and terrifying natural phenomenon (#1). He was elected to the Royal Society in 1756 and to the French Academy of Sciences in 1772(#3). His later achievements included formulating a theory of heat
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Though Ben only had one year of schooling he was educated and loved to read and write. He worked as an apprentice to his brother, James, who was a printer, when he was fifteen years old. At the age of seventeen, Ben ran away and started a new life in Philadelphia as a result of arguments with James. Franklin found work as an apprentice printer and did so well the provincial governor of
Ben Franklin was a very curious and inventive thinker. He kept thinking about different ways to experiment with electricity so he came up with an experiment with only a few materials (wire,mobile kite, handkerchief,and two sticks).(”Benjamin Franklin and Electricity”) Franklin
Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography is an inspiring tale of his personal, as well as public achievement throughout his life. Franklin’s life embodies the exemplary model of a life composed of discipline, self-reliance and self improvement. From his humble beginnings as an apprentice candle and soap maker in his father’s business to a successful business man, author, philosopher, civil activist, politician scientist, inventor, and diplomat, above all Benjamin Franklin was, and still is, an American Icon and truly a pioneer of the American Dream.
So young Benjamin used a false name and slid them under the factory’s door at night to get them published. After relations with his brother got sour he left Boston and moved to New York then to Philadelphia. He worked in Philadelphia for sometime then left to London in hopes to secure his own printing shop. After plans fell through and being very short on cash, he decided to stay in London until he was able to pay his way home. When he returned he got married to Deborah Reads, girl he met and fell in love with many years earlier. He worked in many other printing shops publishing his works until his career really took a turn for the better when he joined the Free Masons. He was elected the leader very shortly after. During this time he wrote the agreement for the Library Company of Philadelphia and this became the first public library in America.
and lower half a large portion of, the upper for separate, and the lower for perusing. Bifocals
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He would be the tenth out of seventeen kids that his dad, Josiah Franklin, would have. His dad had plans for Benjamin to join the church when he became an adult and was sent to language structure school to get ready. He would exceed expectations in perusing at an extremely youthful age however would find that he couldn't ace math so natural. He would be at the linguistic use school for not as much as a year prior to his dad would deal with not having the capacity to bolster a school instruction for Benjamin and supporting whatever is left of the substantial family. Benjamin would then be sent to another school which would show him essential math and English aptitudes. There, he would outperform whatever remains of class in English while in the end fizzling number juggling once more bringing on his dad to draw him from school together (Becker, 1931). At ten years old Benjamin would be
This ingenious invention helped avert a natural disaster from occurring. Many people's lives changed once lightening rods appeared on church steeples and tall buildings. It gave them a large sense of security. Prior to the installation of these lightening rods the homes, towns and cities were at high risk for burning due to lighting strikes. It was unfortunately a common event. One fire could bring down half a town and cost many lives. Thanks to Mr. Franklin, fires caused by lightning strikes were averted. The lightening rod was placed on buildings, homes and even boats (Morgan 13). His invention actually saved lives of people and saved an unmeasurable amount of money. Franklin's design of the lightening rod remains the basis of modern lightening codes up to today.
Having been born in the first month of the year 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin has been regarded an iconic figure not only in the history of America but as well as the world.1 Although he had a deep passion for reading, he could only manage to attend school for two years. He then joined his brother at the age of 12 in apprenticeship at a shop. At the age of 15 people were reading his very first newspaper in Boston. It is after his letters had become a hit that he declared to be the writer. His brother, James, got furious about his writing so he had to run away to Philadelphia at the age of 17. His love for experiments could be seen at an early age for he carried out an experiment on kites during a lighting storm. This one was in regards to lighting and power. Franklin was a famous politician as well as a civil activist during the Enlightenment Era that took place in North America. He was widely known as he played his role as the Ambassador to France and the effort he made to acquire French military assistance when the American Revolution was ongoing. Among other achievements, Benjamin was among the Founding Fathers that put their signatures for the Declaration of Independence besides helping in the drafting of the United States Constitution. Besides being approachable and self-effacing, Benjamin Franklin was an extremely brilliant person.2 he was first a businessman as well as a scientist although he later got involved in civics and politics.
As a founding father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin had a profound and noteworthy influence on the early growth of his nation. Franklin was a prestigious author and inventor that grasped the motive to grow the economy to new heights. His autobiography is an accurate representation of his achievements and the intrinsic motivations that made him the man we think of today. Although it is biased because he writes it only through his eyes, the reader can see the differences he made to the well-being of the United States of America throughout his life. Throughout his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin draws a vivid image of the many contributions he made to society through community service events while at the same time staying true to his virtues that guided his character. He changed society through the improvement of education, healthcare, transportation, and numerous other community projects throughout his lifetime.
Benjamin Franklin is revered by Americans as one of its most revered and adored founding fathers. For foreigners, Benjamin Franklin became the very icon of America, not only because he was accomplished, but because he was a new man, a man that could only have been made in America. Franklin came to be seen as the embodiment of American values.
In The Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin recounts the many paramount experiences throughout his life that shaped him into great American figure he was known to be. On the opening page, Franklin reveals the book’s epistolary format by writing, “Dear Son,” going on to admit that he’s made some mistakes in the past and to recollect that past is a way to relive it. By divulging his desire to “change some sinister Accidents & Events” (Franklin 3) the author indicates how important it is for his son to observe as he amends his mistakes. Pride, virtue and vanity play a pivotal role in Benjamin Franklin’s life and the way he portrays himself to others. Instances occur where the author is shown gloating about his great accomplishments and he puts
Franklin may have started at the bottom but he soon worked his way to the top. He had many jobs in his lifetime. Helping his father in his candle shop was one of Franklin’s first jobs. However, he became bored with his work at his father’s candle shop and soon moved to Philadelphia. Upon arriving to Philadelphia Franklin began working as a printer assistant. It did not last long though and soon he was looking for another job. This is when Benjamin Franklin began to work for the Pennsylvania Gazette, an extensive newspaper. He soon sold the paper though to venture into other endeavors. Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, printers assistant, politician, scientist as well as other things.
In 1747 Franklin began his electrical experiments with a simple object that he had received from Peter Collinson in England. He advanced a tenable theory of the Leyden jar, supported the hypothesis that lightning is an electrical phenomenon, and proposed an effective method of demonstrating this fact. His plan was published in London and
It was the year 1706 in Boston, MA when Benjamin Franklin entered the world. Birthed after fourteen other siblings, Franklin's family structure is only one deciding factor in the way that this legendary tale pans out. A hero of American Revolution, this novel depicts 18th century realism accurately while logging Franklin's personal conception on human nature and social community. Many look at Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography as your typical rags to riches tale yet, the truth and falsehood throughout the pages is unknown, raising many questions and concerns. As this book was written in segments over a stretched period of time, we must analyze this account of his life, the struggles and successes which took place, and the outcome of such
In 1752 Franklin devised another experiment to test if lighting has an electrical charge. He flied a kite carrying a pointed wire in a thunderstorm and attempted to test his theory that atmospheric lightning is an electrical phenomenon similar to the spark produced by an electrical frictional machine (Bruno 406). To