Benjamin Franklin

I

Introduction

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American printer, author, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, and scientist. Franklin was one of the most respected and versatile figures in colonial America. An exceptionally well-rounded man, he worked in many fields and succeeded in all of them. He wrote a classic autobiography, made lasting contributions to scientific theory, and devised many practical inventions. His many contributions to the cause of the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the newly formed federal government that followed rank him among the country’s greatest statesmen.

II

Early Years in Boston

Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston in the colony of Massachusetts. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a tallow chandler (maker and seller of soap and candles). His mother, Abiah Folger, was Josiah’s second wife. Benjamin was the 15th of Josiah’s 17 children, and Abiah’s 8th child. The Franklin family had little money, like most New Englanders of the time, and could not afford to give their children much education. When Benjamin was ten years old, his father took him out of school and taught him to make soap and candles. Disliking the business, however, he went to work for a cutler, or knife-maker. At age 12 he was apprenticed as a printer to his brother James, who had recently returned from England with a new printing press.

Franklin stayed with his brother for five years, learning the printing trade. During this time he made friends with apprentice booksellers in Boston and borrowed books from them. He also skimped on food to buy books. In this way he taught himself grammar, arithmetic, navigation, and philosophy, as well as several foreign languages. His reading included The Pilgrim’s Progress by British preacher John Bunyan; Parallel Lives, the work of Greek essayist and biographer Plutarch; An Essay upon Projects by English journalist and novelist Daniel Defoe; and the Essays to Do Good by American clergyman Cotton Mather. When Franklin acquired a copy of the third volume of the Spectator by British statesmen and essayists Sir Richard Steele and Joseph Addison, he set himself the goal of mastering its prose style.

In 1721 James Franklin established a weekly newspaper, the New England Courant, and Benjamin, at the age of 15, was busily occupied in delivering the newspaper by day and in composing articles for it at night. These articles, published anonymously, won wide notice and acclaim for their pithy observations on the current scene. Because it chose to challenge the Puritan establishment, the New England Courant frequently incurred the displeasure of colonial authorities. In 1722, as a consequence of an article considered particularly offensive, James Franklin was imprisoned for a month and forbidden to publish his paper, and for a while the paper appeared under Benjamin’s name.

---

---

III

Philadelphia and London

Because of repeated quarrels with his brother James, Franklin left Boston at the age of 17 and made his way to Philadelphia, where he arrived in October 1723. There he soon found work as a printer and made numerous friends. Among them was Sir William Keith, the governor of Pennsylvania, who offered to back Franklin in a printing business of his own. Keith encouraged Franklin to go to London to complete his training as a printer and to purchase the printing equipment he would need. Young Franklin took this advice, arriving in London in December 1724. Discovering that Keith had not sent the letters of credit he had promised, Franklin found himself, at age 18, without means in a strange city. With characteristic resourcefulness, he obtained employment at two of the foremost printing houses in London: first at Palmer’s and later at Watt’s. He spent a year and a half in London.

In October 1726 Franklin returned to Philadelphia and went back to work as a printer’s assistant. Two years later he set himself up in the printing business with borrowed money. In September 1729 he bought the Pennsylvania Gazette, a dull, poorly edited weekly newspaper. By his witty style and careful selection of news, Franklin made it both entertaining and informative. In 1730 he married Deborah Read, a Philadelphia woman whom he had known before his trip to England. They had two children: a son, Francis, who died of smallpox in childhood, and a daughter, Sarah, whom they called Sally.

IV

Projects and Experiments

During his time in Philadelphia Franklin engaged in many public projects. In 1727, with a number of his acquaintances, he organized a group called the Junto that met weekly for debate, conversation, and companionship. The Junto attracted some of Philadelphia’s best minds, and it lent its support to many of Franklin’s proposals to improve the city. Members of the Junto pooled their books to create a shared collection, which formed the basis for the first subscription library in America. Founded in 1731, it was chartered in 1742 as the Library Company of Philadelphia. Library subscriptions provided funds to buy books that then could circulate among subscribers. Through the Junta, Franklin also promoted his ideas for creating a fire department and a police force—the first in the colonies.

Franklin first published Poor Richard’s Almanack, a collection of practical advice and humorous sayings, in 1732 under the pen name Richard Saunders. Both a product and a reflection of colonial America, the almanac proved to be a great success, and Franklin published it regularly for the next 25 years. Its homespun wisdom mirrored the simple virtues of a largely rural society: thrift, industry, and humility. As Poor Richard, Franklin advised and amused his readers with such maxims as: “The sleeping fox catches no poultry,” “The used key is always bright,” and “Experience keeps a dear [costly] school, yet fools will learn in no other.” The introduction to the last issue of the almanac, an essay called “The Way to Wealth,” became one of Franklin’s best-known writings.

In 1736 Franklin gained his first political appointment, as clerk of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The next year he was appointed deputy postmaster of Philadelphia. About this time, he organized a volunteer firefighting company in Philadelphia to which members paid dues and agreed to help one another in the event of fire. He also introduced methods for the improvement of street paving and lighting. In 1743 he founded the American Philosophical Society, an organization for the promotion of useful knowledge in science and the humanities.

Franklin retired from the printing business in 1748 to devote his time to inventions. He always believed that knowledge should have practical applications. He had already invented an open stove that warmed houses efficiently. The so-called Franklin stove worked better, however, after it was improved by others. He also devised ways of reducing excessive smoke from heating stoves.

In 1747 Franklin began his experiments in electricity with a simple apparatus that he received from a friend in England. His experiments involved capturing electrical charge, and he came up with the notion of positive and negative electrical charges. Although he was not the first to suggest the connection between lightning and electricity, he proposed an effective method of demonstrating this link. His proposal to erect an iron rod on a high tower or steeple and draw electricity from a storm was published in London and carried out in England and France before he performed his celebrated but dangerous experiment with a kite in 1752. While clouds rolled by the airborne kite, electricity presumably traveled down the kite string to a metal key attached at the end, and a wire drew sparks from the key. Some doubt remains about whether Franklin actually performed the kite experiment, because he failed to mention it for some time. The European demonstrations, however, made Franklin famous. Franklin also published instructions on how to protect houses with lightning rods.

In recognition of his scientific accomplishments, Franklin became a fellow of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge and, in 1753, was awarded its Copley Medal for distinguished contributions to experimental science. Franklin also exerted a great influence on education in Pennsylvania. In 1749 he wrote the pamphlet Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania; its publication led to the establishment in 1751 of the Academy of Philadelphia, later to become the University of Pennsylvania. The curriculum he suggested departed considerably from the study of the Greek and Roman classics then in vogue. Instead it emphasized English and modern foreign languages as well as mathematics and science.

	More from Encarta
	•  7 tips for funding an online degree •  How to succeed in the fashion industry without being a top designer •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain