At 10 his father took him in as an apprentice in his soap and candle making shop. Benjamin was in charge of cutting wicks for candles, filling molds, attending the shop and running errands. In his brother James returned from England with a press and letters to set his printing business in Boston. To prevent Benjamin from becoming a sailor, as his brother Josiah had, his father sent him to work with his brother James as an apprentice.
He made him sign an indenture for his apprenticeship which bounded him until he turned 21 and only then he could earn wages. His brother was abusive partly because Benjamin showed talent. Confrontations were taken to his father who usually ruled against James. Even after Benjamin ran away to Philadelphia the New England Courant continued to be published under his name until it ceased publication in Benjamin was in charge of setting the letters for the printer and sell newspapers door to door.
This job did not satisfy him, he wanted to write but knew his brother would object. One day he left an anonymous article under the door of the print house signed under the pen name of Silence Dogood. From April to October he submitted 14 Dogood letters which were well received and published by the Courant. She abhorred arbitrary government and unlimited power. The New England Courant was a liberal newspaper publishing humorous articles and cartoons against the colonial government.
One of the pieces published in June offended the Assembly and James was jailed for two weeks for contempt as he did not disclose the author.
While James was in jail Benjamin ran the business. When James was discharged he was prohibited from printing the Courant so it was advertised as printed by Benjamin Franklin. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.
He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country I am on this account not displeased that the figure is not known as a Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the truth the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. When did Benjamin Franklin die?
Benjamin Franklin died at age 84 on April 17, , in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was born an Englishman and died an American. The cause of death was complications from pleurisy.
Where is Benjamin Franklin buried? Benjamin Franklin is buried in the cemetery of Christ Church, Philadelphia, next to his wife, Deborah. Is Benjamin Franklin on any American money? On the back is an illustration of Independence Hall. What else is Benjamin Franklin known for? Did Benjamin Franklin discover electricity? Electrical forces had been recognized for more than a thousand years, and scientists had worked extensively with static electricity.
Franklin proved the connection between lightning and electricity in his famous kite experiment. Yes, according to an account written by his contemporary, a British scientist named Joseph Priestley.
Franklin himself wrote about the experiment in the Pennsylvania Gazette—even giving directions for re-creating it. Franklin wanted to prove that lightning was a form of electricity, so he flew a kite with a key attached during a thunderstorm in June When Franklin noticed loose threads on the kite string standing up, he surmised that it was becoming charged.
He moved his finger near the key and felt a spark—proving his hypothesis. Get the Whole Story. If it had been, experts say, he would most likely have been killed.
Did Benjamin Franklin invent daylight saving time? No, Ben Franklin did not come up with the idea of moving the clocks forward in the spring. The misconception comes from a satirical essay he wrote in , in which he suggests Parisians change their sleep schedules in order to be awake when the sun was up—and therefore save money on candles and lamp oil. Get the full story here. Join Our Email List.
Learn more about our commitment to safety. The Franklin Institute is a C 3 nonprofit registered in the U. The Franklin Institute. Benjamin Franklin FAQ. In Carl Van Doren's book, Benjamin Franklin for which he won the Pulitzer Prize he writes: "No certain early likeness of him survives, but what he outwardly was when he returned to Philadelphia may be imagined backwards from later portraits and various chance notes on his personal appearance.
Swim fins: An avid swimmer, Ben developed early swim fins. As a boy, he fashioned two oval wooden palettes with thumb holes. With one on each hand, he paddled through water, observing that they helped him to swim faster. He later developed swim fins to reduce what he called a "laborious and fatiguing operation. He loved to read and grew tired of switching between two pairs of glasses—one that helped him to see things close, another to see things farther away.
So he cut the lenses from both pairs in half, then put half of each lens in a single frame, inventing bifocals.
Andrews What were Benjamin Franklin's pseudonyms? In a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "For my own part I wish the Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is credited with discovering the Gulf Stream.
He started the first volunteer fire company in Philadelphia. He helped create the first subscription library in the Colonies, called the Library Company of Philadelphia. He bought the struggling Pennsylvania Gazette and made it profitable. HIs testimony helped repeal the Stamp Act in He was a vocal opponent of slavery and served as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.
Franklin was also involved in many public projects, including founding the American Philosophical Society, a subscription library and, in , an academy which later became the University of Pennsylvania. From to , Franklin lived mainly in London where he was the colonial representative for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
His attempts to reconcile the British government with the colonies proved fruitless. On his return to America, the war of independence had already broken out and he threw himself into the struggle. In , he helped to draft, and was then a signatory to, the Declaration of Independence. His illegitimate son William, royal governor of New Jersey between and , remained loyal to Britain, causing a rift that lasted for the rest of Franklin's life. Later that year, Franklin and two others were appointed to represent America in France.
Franklin negotiated the Franco-American Alliance which provided for military cooperation between the two countries against Britain and ensured significant French subsidies to America. He was extremely popular and well known in France, but in returned to America. He continued to be deeply involved in politics, helping to draft the Constitution.
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