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Ben. was born
Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. Ben. was one of fifteen children. He was also the tenth and last son of Josiah Frankiln. Ben. loved the water. Growing up in Boston, he loved the seas and he often dreamed of becoming a sailor. Ben learned to swim and became an expert swimmer. He wanted to increase his speed in the water so ambitous ben devised fins that he wore on his hands. The fins were shaped like lily pads. -
Ben, runs away from home.
At age 17, Benjamin Franklin ran away from his home all the way to New York, then to Philadephia. He wanted to start a new life where he could think on his own. He worked in many printer shops before where he then was offered a job in London. -
Ben. returns home
Benjamin returns home to Boston to try and borrow money from his father to start print shop but his father turned him down. He then looks for work else where. That is when he decided to work for the man who funded his trip. -
Ben. Publishes his first phamplet
It was titled "A Dissertation upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain". This same year he left Thomas Denham's office to work for a bigger one owned by John Watts. This was a big for him in the litature department. -
Ben. returns to Philadelphia
Benjamin returned to Philadelphia to work for Thomas Denham. Thomas was the one who loaned him the money that made him able to return to Phialdephia. Franklin worked as a bookkeeper and shopkeeper in that store. -
Ben. has an affair
This is the year that Franklin had an affair with a woman that is not known. That affair resulted in his son, William. William's mother gave birth to him some time in 1728. It wasn't for another two year before Ben. publicly acknowledged an illegitimate son named William, and raised him in his household. -
Ben. creates a print shop
Benjamin Franklin started a Philadelphia printing partnership with Hugh Meredith. He rented a building that provided both a home and printshop. This wasn't a huge company, but he was able to support himself. -
Ben. becomes Publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette
Benjamin Franklin purchased The Pennsylvania Gazette from Samuel Keimer and became the lead publisher at that establishment. -
Ben. was elected printer
Ben Franklin is elected offical printer for Phialdephia -
Ben, found first libary
Benjamin Franklin drew up the Library Company's articles of association on July 1st. The Library Company became the first lending library in the country but at the time it was still private. -
Ben. retires
When he retired, this gave way for Ben.'s inquisitive, bright, mind to do what it has done best since he was a young boy, to invent. After retiring, Ben. went on to accomlpish great feats, not only in the scientfic community, but in the world we all inhabit today. With this, a new era was born, and a new scientist emerged. -
The Franklin Stove
Ben. wanted to build a fireplace that would revolutionize the stove. It would use less wood and deliver more heat. With the help of an acquaintance, Ben. modified and built a stove that he claimed would be more efficient. He marketed the stove by printing pamphlets that described the "Pennsylvania Fireplace" and how it was better. He sold a number of the stoves, but, ironically, they didn't work very well. A inventor modified Franklin's design to create a efficient model. -
Ben.'s lighting rod
Before Ben.'s invention, lightning destroyed or damaged many buildings. Due to Ben.'s deep understanding of electricity he was able to design the lightning rod, which was a metal rod attached to the high point of a building. A metal wire or cable ran from the rod, down the side of the building, and into the ground. When lighting struck, the electricity ran down the rod and cable and into the ground, preventing damage to the building. Franklin came up with the idea for the lightning rod in 1750. -
Ben. expirements with kite
Ben.'s wildly dangerous kite experiment has grown into an American legend. Basically everyone has heard of Franklin flying a kite with a key in an electrical storm, but most of us actually understand how the experiment works. Ben. stated that lightning is an electrical phenomenon, and that this phenomenon might be able to be transferd to another object and cause an effect that could be recognized as electricity. He set out to prove it in an experiment, and he did. -
The Glass Hermonica
Ben. found beauty in simple tunes and sounds. He played several musical instruments, including the violin, harp, and guitar. His great love and interest in music lead him to build his own glass armonica. This simple musical instrument was played by touching the edge of the spinning glass with a dampened finger or fingers. The buetiful tone produced led to many composers, including Mozart and Beethoven to compose music for the glass germonica. -
Ben. signs the Decleration of Independence
Benjamin Franklin served on committee to draft the Declaration of Independence and signed it. He also went to France as one of three American commissioners to negotiate a treaty. This is probably one of the acts in which he is most well know for. He had a big contribution to the creation and writing of this historical document. The document in which he signed has forever improved the living conditions of America's comon man and women. -
Ben. signs the French Alliance
Benjamin Franklin negotiated treaties of commerce and defense with France Appointed sole power to take independent action in France. -
Ben.'s Bifocals
Anyone who has had to switch back and forth between reading glasses and distance glasses knows why Bens. invented his "double spectacles." or comonly refered to as Bifocals. Ben. had his optician take the lenses from his two sets of glasses, cut the lenses in two horizontally, and then place them back into spectacle frames, with the lens for close work at the bottom and the lens for distance at the top. Thus, bifocals were invented and Ben. created another great invetrion. -
Long Arm Invetion
Having helped found a library in Philadelphia, Ben. spent a lot of time in the stacks. To help him reach books on upper shelves , he invented an extension arm. The device had two "fingers" that were attached to the end of a long piece of wood or pipe. The fingers could be opened or closed by pulling on a cord. -
Ben, writes anti slavery treaty
Benjamin Franklin wrote the anti-slavery treaty and became president of the Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery -
Benjamin Frankiln dies
Benjamin Franklin passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 17, 1790. He was 84 years old. His funeral in Philadelphia attracted the largest crowd of mourners ever known. An estimated 20,000 people crowded around the Christ Church Burial Ground where he was buried beside his wife Deborah Read Rogers Franklin who had died sixteen years before him. Although gone, he will surly not be forgoten. His invetions live on and he is of great inspiration eveyone. Rest in peace.
