Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston in 1706. His father was a tallow chandler (he made soaps),and his mother was his father's second wife. Through his father's marriages, Ben had 16 siblings. He was the 15th child and the youngest boy in the family. While Ben was an avid reader he did not finish school. He left his apprentice job at 17 and ran away to Philadelphia. Through the help of many, Ben became a typesetter in a print shop and then a clerk and bookkeeper.

1728- Franklin opens his own printing shop after spending a few years in London training at the job

1729- Becomes the owner and publisher of the Philadelphia Gazette newspaper

1730- Marries Deborah Read Rogers ( a woman he wanted to originally marry when she was 15)

1737- Becomes Postmaster General of Philadelphia

1732-1758- Publishes Poor Richard's Almanac

1751- Publishes first writings on electrical experiments

1752- In June, Franklin performed his famous kite experiment

1769- Was elected President of the American Philosophical Society

1776- Signs the Declaration of Independence

1778- Negotiates and signs a Treaty of Alliance with France

1782- Negotiates along with John Adams and John Jay a Treaty of Peace with Great Britain

1787- Elected President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the abolistion of slavery

Franklin was tired of putting his glasses on and taking them off when he was reading. So he invented bifocals. He had two pairs of glasses cut in half and put one half of each lens into one pair of glasses.

Although we know that Franklin didn't creat electricity, he did invent the lightning rod, a device to protect a building against a lightning strike.

Ben designed the Franklin stove, a new way to heat the house and save on wood. Before this invention, homes were heated by fireplaces; both dangerous and wood consuming.

While working as the Postmaster General, Franklin decided to find the best route to where he needed to go. He designed the odometer that helped to measure the distance he was traveling.

Franklin considered his Armonica his greatest invention. Created in 1761, his armonica uses glasses made to a particular size ( graduated sizes) and the correct pitch, making them able to create sound without the use of water. The glasses were tightly compacted together and were mounted on a spindle. A foot pedal was used to turn the spindle and music was created. With this invention, a person was able to "play" as many as 10 notes(glasses) at a time.The original Franklin Armonica is in the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

In 1847 the first US postage stamp came out with Ben Franklin's photo on it. It was worth 5 cents.

This political cartoon by Franklin encouraged the colonies to join together or die during the French and Indian War. He wanted the colonies to unite against England.

This cartoon was first published in the Philadelphia Gazette in 1754. The snake pictured is cut into 8 pieces, each representing one of the colonies. Georgia and Delaware were left out of the photo.