Ben Franklin By kevindoesntlose Jan 17, 1706 Born in Boston Mar 7, 1717 Invents a pair of swim fins for his hands May 14, 1718 Apprenticed to his brother James, a printer. Jan 21, 1720 Moved away from home into a boarding house Apr 13, 1721 Becomes "a thorough Deist" Dec 7, 1723 Runs away from apprenticeship, goes to New York and then to Philadelphia, where he gains employment as a printer. Jun 11, 1726 Franklin works as a bookkeeper and shopkeeper in a store which sells imported clothes and hardware. Nov 30, 1728 establishes a Philadelphia printing partnership with Hugh Meredith and composes "Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion" Jun 14, 1730 Elected the official printer for Pennsylvania Sep 25, 1732 Birth of his son Francis Folger Apr 10, 1736 Named Clerk of the PA Assembly Oct 26, 1737 Appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia Jul 2, 1752 Conducts kite experiment Nov 20, 1789 He becomes president of the Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery Apr 17, 1790 Dies in Philadelphia at the age of 84