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Quick Facts
- NAME: Benjamin Franklin
- OCCUPATION: Inventor, Political Leader, Scientist, Writer
- BIRTH DATE: January 17, 1706
- DEATH DATE: April 17, 1790
- EDUCATION: Boston Latin School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts
- PLACE OF DEATH: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- AKA: Ben Franklin
- AKA: Benjamin Franklin
Best Known For
Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
Videos see all videos
Benjamin Franklin - Mini Biography
A short biography on Benjamin Franklin, who's been famously called the "first Citizen of the 18th Century." A man of many trades, Franklin is famous for "Poor Richard's Almanac," as well as his work in electrical theory.
Benjamin Franklin - Poor Richard
Aside from The Bible, Poor Richard's Almanac became the most read item in the new colonies.
Benjamin Franklin - A Declaration is Made
After many revisions, Benjamin Franklin and the other founding fathers signed one of the most important documents in history.
Benjamin Franklin - Citizen of the World
Benjamin Franklin was known as many things: an author, politician, scientist, philosopher and inventor.
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Play NowBenjamin Franklin. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:49, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234.
Benjamin Franklin. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Benjamin Franklin." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 12:49 http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234.
"Benjamin Franklin," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Benjamin Franklin," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Benjamin Franklin [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234.
Benjamin Franklin, http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Benjamin Franklin. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234. Accessed May 25, 2013.
Synopsis
Born in Boston in 1706, Benjamin Franklin organized the United States’ first lending library and volunteer fire department. His scientific pursuits included investigations into electricity, mathematics and mapmaking. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution, and negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which marked the end of the Revolutionary War.
Contents
Quotes
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
Early Life
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston in what was then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His father, Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker, had 17 children, seven with first wife, Anne Child, and 10 with second wife Abiah Folger. Benjamin was his 15th child and the last son.
Despite his success at the Boston Latin School, Ben was removed at 10 to work with his father at candle making, but dipping wax and cutting wicks didn’t fire his imagination. Perhaps to dissuade him from going to sea as one of his brothers had done, Josiah apprenticed Ben at 12 to his brother James at his print shop. Ben took to this like a duck to water, despite his brother’s hard treatment. When James refused to publish any of his brother’s writing, Ben adopted the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, and “her” 14 imaginative and witty letters were published in his brother’s newspaper, The New England Courant, to the delight of the readership. But James was angry when it was discovered the letters were his brother’s, and Ben abandoned his apprenticeship shortly afterward, escaping to New York, but settling in Philadelphia, which was his home base for the rest of his life.
Franklin furthered his education in the printing trade in Philadelphia, lodging at the home of John Read in 1723, where he met and courted Read’s daughter Deborah. Nevertheless, the following year, Franklin left for London under the auspices of Pennsylvania Governor William Keith, but felt duped when letters of introduction never arrived and he was forced to find work at print shops there. Once employed, though, he was able to take full advantage of the city’s pleasures, attending theater, mingling with the populace in coffee houses and continuing his lifelong passion for reading. He also managed to publish his first pamphlet, "A Dissertation upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain."
Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726 to find that Deborah Read had married. In the next few years he held varied jobs such as bookkeeper, shopkeeper and currency cutter. He also fathered a son, William, out of wedlock during this time. In late 1727, Franklin formed the “Junto,” a social and self-improvement study group for young men, and early the next year was able to establish his own print shop with a partner.
Prominent Citizen
After publishing another pamphlet, "The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency," Franklin was able to purchase The Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper from a former boss, and was elected the official printer of Pennsylvania.
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