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Oct 20, 2023 · Between running a print shop, engineering the U.S. postal system, starting America's first lending library and helping sow the seeds of the American Revolution, Ben Franklin also found time to draw up a vast collection of new devices.
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Here are some of Benjamin Franklin’s most significant inventions: Lightning Rod. Image. Franklin is known for his experiments with electricity - most notably the kite experiment - a fascination that began in earnest after he accidentally shocked himself in 1746.
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. [8] .
- Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years
- Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher
- Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia
- Benjamin Franklin's Inventions
- Benjamin Franklin and The American Revolution
- Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second wife. Franklin was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspr...
Benjamin Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726, and two years later opened a printing shop. The business became highly successful producing a range of materials, including government pamphlets, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner and publisher of a colonial newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and to whic...
As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Starting in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of community organizations in Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a time when books weren’t widely available in the colonies, and remained the largest U.S. public library unt...
In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, had expanded his printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough to stop working. Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public service and also pursue more fully his longtime interest in science. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to the understanding of electricit...
In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Articles of Confederation, which became the first constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781. In 1757, Franklin t...
In 1785, Franklin left France and returned once again to Philadelphia. In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document. The U.S. Constit...
- Missy Sullivan
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Dec 10, 2020 · Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who never served as president but was a respected inventor, publisher, scientist and diplomat.
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May 16, 2024 · Since no busy artisan could be a gentleman, Franklin never again worked as a printer; instead, he became a silent partner in the printing firm of Franklin and Hall, realizing in the next 18 years an average profit of over £600 annually.
The world-changing inventions of Benjamin Franklin, including the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove. How they revolutionized the world.
