Essay on Ben Franklin Early Life - 1685 Words

Ben Franklin: Early Life In his many careers as a printer, moralist, essayist, civic leader, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, and philosopher, for later generations of Americans he became both a spokesman and a model for the national character. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on Jan. 17, 1706, into a religious Puritan household. His father, Josiah, was a candlemaker and a skillful mechanic. His mother, Abiah Ben’s parents raised thirteen children--the survivors of Josiah’s seventeen children by two wives (#1). Printer Writer Franklin left school at ten years old when he was pressed into his fathers trade. At twelve Ben was apprenticed to his half brother James, a printer of The New England Courant. He†¦show more content†¦They aspired to build their own businesses, insure the growth of Philadelphia, and improve the quality of its life. Franklin led the Junto in founding a library (1731), fire company (1736), learned society (1743), college (later the University of Pennsylvania, 1749), and an insurance company and a hospital (1751). The group also carried out plans for paving, cleaning, and lighting the streets and for making them safe by organizing an efficient night watch. They even formed a voluntary militia (#1). Franklin had steadily extended his own knowledge by study of foreign languages, philosophy, and science. He repeated experiments of other scientists and added his own ideas that led to inventions of the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglasses, and a glass harmonica. The phenomenon of electricity interested him deeply, in 1748 he turned his printing business over to his foreman, intending to devote his life to science (#5). Experiments he proposed, showed that lightning was in fact a form of electricity. Later that year his famous kite experiment, in which he flew a kite with the wire attached to a key during a thunderstorm, further established that laboratory-produced static electricity was akin to a previously mysterious and terrifying natural phenomenon (#1). He was elected to the Royal Society in 1756 and to the French Academy of Sciences in 1772(#3). His later achievements included formulating a theory of heatShow MoreRelatedBenjamin Franklin Was A Great Impact On Society1249 Word s   |  5 PagesIntroduction Benjamin Franklin was a very important colonist in the Revolutionary War era. He was mainly known for being a Founding Father with many inventions and contributions to the founding of the United States of America; he had helped write the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation, also he helped form the Treaty of Paris, drafted into the Second Continental Congress and performed the kite and key experiment fueling the flame for his interest inRead MoreStealing God s Thunder Benjamin Franklin s Lighting Rod And The Invention Of America979 Words   |  4 Pageslook into the life of Benjamin Franklin, as a youth well into his senior years until death. He outlined facts; Ben was an Inventor/scientist long before he entertained the thought of becoming a diplomat, civic leader, abolitionist and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. The message Dray points out about Benjamin Franklin is although he was a political figure, his first love was curiosity of nature and experimenting. Philip Dray covers several areas of Franklin s activitiesRead MorePuritan and Neoclassical Literature981 Words   |  4 Pagescame to the New World, they led a life that was focused on their religious beliefs. Through the course of time, the people of the British colonies developed an identity apart from both the homeland of England and their religious predecessors. Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan, was one of the first women writers to gain international fame as a New World writer. In her poem Prologue she writes about what it is like for a Puritan woman living in the New World. Ben Franklin, as exemplified in his autobiographyRead MoreBenjamin Franklin And The American Revolution1406 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent walks of life gave their contributions in the forms of literature, propositions, and even their lives. One of these men was Ben jamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin’s life was intertwined with that of America’s life. 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We covered many different so far in the semester some of these authors have similar views and some with totally different views. We covered Jean De Crevecover, Thomas Paine, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Phillis Wheatley. These authors are Revolutionary War Era author who’s trying to answer what is an American. In history many au thors try to answer this question. You get many difference answers for this question. Read MoreWhy The Founding Fathers Broke Away1430 Words   |  6 Pagessymbol of how a country should be run. This all stems from the early colonial years on how the colonies were founded in how we became The United states. Like all countries we had an ethical dilemma establishing ourselves, some we will cover, but it’s the reasoning behind that rings true. The very reasons our founding fathers broke away leads us to who we are today. We will go over the differences between early colonial life and life at the time of the revolution and all the factors that go alongRead MoreBenjamin Franklin Essay1518 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Susanna Dey 19 November 2011 Benjamin Franklin Say the name Benjamin Franklin and you may picture a chubby man with spectacles holding a kite during a lightening storm. Perhaps you picture him a older man with spectacles propped up on his nose standing in a great room full of distinguished gentlemen signing the Declaration of Independence. Both of these facts about Benjamin Franklins life would be true. However, there was so much more to Mr. Franklin. He was a diplomat, a statesman, a scientistRead MoreHenry David Thoreau And Ben Franklin994 Words   |  4 Pagesreading wasn’t necessary to work and to be successful. However, now in this modern era, reading has become necessary for everyday life; it has become vital to a society that is ever more dependent on technology. Nevertheless, reading is beneficial in ways that listening and watching movies can never be. The works of Anne Bradstreet, Henry David Thoreau, and Ben Franklin help acknowledge this idea through the impacts they have had on readers still today. If you ask anyone about a book that was alsoRead MoreThe Invention Of The First American History1157 Words   |  5 PagesNative American? Do you think of Benjamin Franklin? Probably not, but he has been graciously granted with this very title. Franklin is a large part of American history. A renowned polymath, he held many occupations including; an author, printer, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist and more! All throughout history there have been a plethora of inspirational, hardworking, intelligent, life-changing personages, one of them being Benjamin Franklin. He changed not only the world, but America