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Benjamin Franklin was born January 17, 1706 on Milk Street, in Boston. His parents were Josiah and Abiah Franklin.
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Umbrellas became popular in London
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Ben's father knew he hated working with him because of the boring job. Fearing he might run away so he could be sailor, he sent Ben to his brother so he could work for him.
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At the age of 12, Ben had a nine year contract working for his brother. In this time, he began writing poems and even managed to get his brother to print a few which ben sold on the streets himself.
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Ben's brother helped him begin his carrier as a printer in his early years. Ben also had a passion for writing which helped him in this buisness.
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Benjamin Franklin ran away from home when he was 17 because Boston leaders did not approve of the things he printed. He arrived in New York near pennyless, but bounced back quickly.
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Samuel Keimer gave Ben his first job after arriving in philadelphia. Franklin believed he was lazy and later bought his failing buisness.
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Benjamin's firs experiments with electricity using a glass tube and silk worked very well. In 1752, he performed his famous kite experiment which he tied a key to to a kite and flew it up into the storm clouds to see if they contain electricity.
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Arthur Lee and Silas Deane were Franklin's co-commisioners in France. They helped Franklin negotiate the treaty of alliance with France, which was eventually signed in 1778
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At night, a group of colonists protestibg the tax on tea, dressed up like Naine Americans and boarded three tea ships, dumped the tea into the water, and called it the Boston Tea Party.
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In Virginia, Patrick Henry made his famous "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech.
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The members of Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. The liberty bell rang when the bellman was given a signal from a boy down on the streets that it had been signed. Anyone who signed it was considered a traitor to Great Britain and if Britain had won the war, they would have been hanged.
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Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at age 84. Approximately 20,000 people attended his funeral.
