American founding father, scientist, inventor, activist, statesman, diplomat and author, they don’t come much greater than Benjamin Franklin. Born in Boston in 1706, Franklin was schooled until the age of ten when he went to work first with his father but then as an apprentice in his brother James’ printing business.
At 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia after it was discovered that he was the writer behind the series of controversial letters published in his brothers newspaper The New-England Courant. He continued to work as a printer and by 1730, he was publishing his own newspaper; The Pennsylvania Gazette.
Seven years later, Franklin was appointed post master of Philadelphia. At a time when the post was haphazard and poorly organized. A prolific correspondent Franklin plays great value on communication, he set up mortar and groups, built milestones and directed mail wagons to travel at night as well as day.
Mail times were slashed in half and delivery became more reliable. An adventure traveler, Franklin was fascinated by weather phenomenon. And was the first to observe that storms could move a different direction from the wind. He spent many voyages setting up experiments to measure ocean temperature and was the first to chart the Gulf Stream that flows through the Atlantic Ocean.
His inventions were amazingly crafty, ranging from the bifocal lens, swim fins and the odometer to lightning rods, daylight savings time and the three wheel clock.
His most famous experiment was to fly a kite during a lightning storm to prove that lightning was electrical although no one knows exactly how to experiment was carried out.
Franklin had a great love of music and designed the glass ‘harmonica’, constructed from 37 different glass gloves providing a range of pitches. Mozart was just one of the composers who created music especially for the instrument.
Franklin’s public life included a stint in the Pennsylvania Assembly and the diplomatic posting to London a few years before the colonies went to war against Britain during the American Revolution. Interestingly, Franklin designed the continental currency issued by congress. His image is now in enshrined on the U.S. $100.00 bill.
Franklin had an illegitimate son; William who was raised by Franklin and his common-law wife Deborah Read and went on to become the last colonial Governor of New Jersey.
Franklin had first met Deborah as a 17 year old but was unable to obtain her mothers consent to the match before he left for England where he was carrying out a mission for the Governor of Pennsylvania. Instead, Deborah was married to man who soon deserted her leaving her unable to legally end the union. Nevertheless, the couple established an informal marriage and remain together until Deborah’s death in 1774.
By that time, Franklin was one of the famous man in the world. Future President John Adams wrote to him, ‘his reputation is greater than 3:18 his character more revealed than all of them.’
The 3:26 coachman or a footman or 3:28 who does not consider him a friend of all man kind.
Posted to Paris during to an American war of Independence, he was met with the claim, his inventions, great works and freshness of thought were seemed to be particularly American.
In 1776, Franklin segmented his place in American history by becoming one of the five men to drive the American declaration of independence.
One of the new countries most popular and influential citizens, he was unanimously elected the President of Pennsylvania serving until his death age 84 in 1790.
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