Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was one of the
Founding FathersThe Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...
of the
United States of AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A noted
polymathA polymath is a person whose expertise fills a significant number of subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply refer to someone who is very knowledgeable...
, Franklin was a leading author and
printerA printer is a company that provides commercial printing services, often also offering typesetting and book-binding services. The term can also refer to people who operate printing presses, or who run printing companies....
, satirist,
political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor,
civic activistActivism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social change, political change, economic justice, or environmental wellbeing...
, statesman, soldier, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the
EnlightenmentThe American Enlightenment is a term sometimes employed to describe the intellectual culture of the British North American colonies and the early United States . It was a part of a larger intellectual movement known as the Age of Enlightenment...
and the
history of physicsAs forms of science historically developed out of philosophy, physics was originally referred to as natural philosophy, a term describing a field of study concerned with "the workings of nature".-Early history:...
for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the
lightning rodA lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod or conductor mounted on top of a building and electrically connected to the ground through a wire, to protect the building in the event of lightning...
,
bifocalsBifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hypermetropia, and/or astigmatism.-History:...
, the
Franklin stoveA Franklin stove, named after its inventor, Benjamin Franklin, is a metal-lined fireplace. It has baffles in the rear to improve the airflow, providing more heat and less smoke than an ordinary open fireplace. It is also known as a circulating stove...
, a carriage
odometerAn odometer indicates distance traveled by a car or other vehicle. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words ""hodós", meaning "path" or "way", and "métron", "measure".-Description:In the early autos a top reading of 99,999 was...
, and the glass 'armonica'. He formed both the first public lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. He was an early proponent of
colonial unityThe Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the original thirteen United States of America in 1783...
, and as a political writer and activist, he supported the idea of an American nation. As a diplomat during the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
, he secured the French alliance that helped to make independence of the United States possible.
Franklin is credited as being foundational to the roots of American values and character, a marriage of the practical and democratic
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of
Henry Steele CommagerHenry Steele Commager was an American historian who wrote over forty books and over 700 journalistic essays and reviews...
, "In Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin, "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."
Franklin became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia, becoming very wealthy writing and publishing
Poor Richard's Almanack and
The Pennsylvania GazetteThe Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1723, before the time period of the American Revolution, until 1800...
. Franklin was interested in science and technology, and gained international renown for his famous experiments. He played a major role in establishing the
University of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America...
and
Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania...
and was elected the first president of the
American Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club, the Junto...
. Franklin became a
national heroA hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
in America when he spearheaded the effort to have
ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
repeal the unpopular
Stamp ActThe Stamp Act of 1765 was a tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies carry a tax stamp. These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and practically all forms of paper used...
. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. From 1775 to 1776, Franklin was the
Postmaster GeneralThe United States Postmaster General is the executive head of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
under the
Continental CongressThe Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution...
and from 1785 to 1788, the President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he became one of the most prominent abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored on coinage and money; warships; the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies; and more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references.
Ancestry
Franklin's father,
Josiah FranklinJosiah Franklin was the father of Benjamin Franklin.Josiah was born in the tiny town of Ecton, Northamptonshire, England on December 23, 1657. Josiah was the ninth and the last child of his parents, Thomas Franklin, blacksmith and farmer, and his wife Jane White Franklin. Thomas Franklin...
, was born at
EctonFor the hamlet of Ecton in the Staffordshire Peak District, see Ecton, Staffordshire.Ecton is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, in the Borough of Wellingborough. The village is just east of Northampton just off the A4500. It was one of the first villages in Northamptonshire...
,
NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census...
, England on December 23, 1657, the son of Thomas Franklin, a
blacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i.e., by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut. Blacksmiths produce things like wrought iron gates, grills, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, tools, agricultural implements, decorative and religious...
and
farmerA farmer is a person who raises living organisms for food or raw materials.- Definition :The term farmer usually applies to a person who grows field crops, and/or manages orchards or vineyards, or raises livestock or poultry such as chicken and cows...
, and Jane White. His mother, Abiah Folger, was born in
Nantucket, MassachusettsNantucket is an island 30 miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the...
, on August 15, 1667, to Peter Folger, a miller and schoolteacher and his wife
Mary MorrillMary Morrill was the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin, American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat, statesman and inventor.Mary came to the New World as an indentured servant probably belonging to Hugh Peters...
, a former
indentured servantAn indentured servant is a laborer under contract to an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities...
. A descendant of the Folgers,
J.A. FolgerJames Athearn Folger was the founder of the Folgers Coffee Company.-Early years:Folger was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Brown Folger and Nancy Hill. His father was a master blacksmith who had invested in a try works and bought two ships. They had nine children of which...
, founded
FolgersFolgers Coffee is a major brand of coffee in the United States, part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co.-Company history:...
Coffee in the 19th century.
Josiah Franklin had seventeen children with his two wives. He married his first wife, Anne Child, in about 1677 in Ecton and emigrated with her to Boston in 1683; they had three children before emigrating, and four after. After her death, Josiah was married to Abiah Folger on July 9, 1689 in the
Old South Meeting HouseThe Old South Meeting House, in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time....
by
Samuel WillardReverend Samuel Willard was a Colonial clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts; graduated at Harvard in 1659; and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, whence he was driven by the Indians during King Philip's War. The Reverend Willard was pastor of the Third Church, Boston, from...
. Benjamin, their eighth child, was Josiah Franklin's fifteenth child and tenth and last son.
Josiah Franklin converted to
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
ism in the 1670s. Puritanism was a Protestant movement in England to "purify"
AnglicanismAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures...
from elements of the
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
religion, which they considered superstitious. Three things were important to the Puritans: that each congregation be self-governing; that ministers give sermons instead of performing rituals such as a Mass; and that each member study the Bible so that each could develop a personal understanding and relationship with God. Puritanism appealed to middle-class individuals such as Benjamin Franklin's father, who enjoyed the governance meetings, discussion, study, and personal independence.
The roots of American democracy can be seen in these Puritan values of self-government. These values, which were passed on to Benjamin Franklin and other founding fathers (such as
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American politician and the second President of the United States , after being the first Vice President for two terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution...
), included the importance of the individual and active indignation against unjust authority. One of Josiah's core Puritan values was that personal worth is earned through hard work, which makes the industrious man the equal of kings (Ben Franklin would etch Proverbs 22:29, "Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shall stand before Kings." onto his father's tombstone). Hard work and equality were two Puritan values that Ben Franklin preached throughout his own life (ibid, p 78) and spread widely through Poor Richard's Almanac and his
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
.
Ben Franklin's mother, Abiah Folger, was born into a Puritan family that was among the first Pilgrims to flee to Massachusetts for
religious freedomFreedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, when
King Charles I of EnglandCharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
began persecuting Protestants. They sailed for Boston in 1635. Her father was "the sort of rebel destined to transform colonial America." As
clerk of the courtA court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...
, he was jailed for disobeying the local magistrate in defense of middle-class shopkeepers and artisans in conflict with wealthy landowners. Ben Franklin followed in his grandfather's footsteps in his battles against the wealthy Penn family that owned the
Pennsylvania ColonyThe Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was a colony in British America founded by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II of England. Pennsylvania got its name for William Penn's father and the Latin word silva, meaning...
.
Early life
Benjamin Franklin was born on
Milk StreetMilk Street is a street in the financial district of Boston, Massachusetts.Milk Street was at one time one of Boston's earliest highways. The name "Milk Street" was given to the street in 1708 due to the milk market in the location...
, in
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
,
MassachusettsThe Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony chartered October 7, 1691 in British America by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland...
, on January 17, 1706 and
baptizedInfant baptism is the Christian religious practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's...
at Old South Meeting House. His father, Josiah Franklin, was a
tallowTallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.Rendered fat...
chandler, a maker of candles and soap, whose second wife, Abiah Folger, was Benjamin's mother. Josiah's marriages produced 17 children; Benjamin was the fifteenth child and youngest son. Josiah wanted Ben to attend school with the clergy but only had enough money to send him to school for two years. He attended
Boston Latin SchoolThe Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
but did not graduate; he continued his education through voracious reading. Although "his parents talked of the church as a career" for Franklin, his schooling ended when he was ten. He then worked for his father for a time and at 12 he became an
apprenticeApprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
to his brother James, a printer, who taught Ben the printing trade. When Ben was 15, James created
The New-England CourantThe New-England Courant is one of the oldest and the first truly independent American newspaper. It was founded in Boston in 1721 by James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's older brother. The newspaper participated in several controversies and was suppressed in 1727...
,
the first truly independent newspaper in the coloniesThe history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.-Colonial period:-The New England Courant:...
. When denied the chance to write a letter to the paper for publication, Franklin invented the
pseudonymA pseudonym is a fictitious name used by a person, or sometimes, a group.Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other...
of
"Mrs. Silence Dogood," who was ostensibly a middle-aged widow. Her letters were published, and became a subject of conversation around town. Neither James nor the Courant's readers were aware of the ruse, and James was unhappy with Ben when he discovered the popular correspondent was his younger brother. Franklin left his apprenticeship without permission, and in so doing became a fugitive.
At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking a new start in a new city. When he first arrived he worked in several printer shops around town. However, he was not satisfied by the immediate prospects. After a few months, while working in a printing house, Franklin was convinced by Pennsylvania Governor
Sir William KeithWilliam Keith was a lieutenant-governor of colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware.Keith was born in Boddam Castle near Peterhead, Scotland to Sir William Keith, Baronet, of Ludquhairn, Scotland and Lady Jean Keith. He was baptised on 16 February 1680. As eldest son, he stood to inherit the...
to go to London, ostensibly to acquire the equipment necessary for establishing another newspaper in Philadelphia. Finding Keith's promises of backing a newspaper to be empty, Franklin worked as a typesetter in a printer's shop in what is now the
Church of St Bartholomew-the-GreatThe Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great is an Anglican church located at West Smithfield in the City of London, founded as an Augustinian priory in 1123 - see St Bartholomew's Hospital for further details.-History:...
in the
SmithfieldSmithfield is an area of the City of London, in the ward of Farringdon Without. It is located in the north-west part of the City of London, and is mostly known for its centuries-old meat market, today the last surviving historical wholesale market in Central London...
area of London. Following this, he returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of a merchant named Thomas Denham, who gave Franklin a position as clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in Denham's merchant business.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin, 21, created the
JuntoThe Junto was a club established in 1727 by Benjamin Franklin for mutual improvement in Philadelphia. Also known as the Leather Apron Club, its purpose was to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy, and to exchange knowledge of business affairs.-History:Franklin organized a...
, a group of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community." The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day; it subsequently gave rise to many organizations in Philadelphia.
Reading was a great pastime of the Junto, but books were rare and expensive. The members created a library, and initially pooled their own books together. This did not work, however, and Franklin initiated the idea of a
subscription libraryA Subscription Library is a library that is supported by private funds raised by membership fees or endowments...
, where the members pooled their monetary resources to buy books. This idea was the birth of the Library Company, with the charter of the
Library Company of PhiladelphiaThe Library Company of Philadelphia is a non-profit organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Benjamin Franklin as a library, the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of historically-valuable manuscripts and printed material in...
created in 1731 by Franklin. Franklin hired the first American librarian in 1732,
Louis TimotheeLouis Timothee was a prominent Colonial American printer in the Colony of Pennsylvania, who worked for Benjamin Franklin. -Early life:Timothee was born in Holland to French Huguenot parents. He learned the trade of printing as a young man growing up in Holland. Timothee learned numerous languages...
.
Originally, the books were kept in the homes of the first librarians, but in 1739 the collection was moved to the second floor of the State House of Pennsylvania, now known as Independence Hall. In 1791, a new building was built specifically for the library. The Library Company flourished with no competition and gained many priceless collections from bibliophiles such as
James LoganJames Logan , a statesman and scholar, was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland of Scottish descent and Quaker parentage. In 1689, the Logan family moved to Bristol, England where, in 1693, James replaced his father as schoolmaster...
and his physician brother William. The Library Company is now a great scholarly and
research libraryA research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects. A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...
with 500,000 rare books, pamphlets, and broadsides, more than 160,000 manuscripts, and 75,000 graphic items.
Upon Denham's death, Franklin returned to his former trade. By 1730, Franklin had set up a printing house of his own and had contrived to become the publisher of a newspaper called
The Pennsylvania GazetteThe Pennsylvania Gazette was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1723, before the time period of the American Revolution, until 1800...
. The Gazette gave Franklin a forum for agitation about a variety of local reforms and initiatives through printed essays and observations. Over time, his commentary, together with a great deal of savvy about cultivating a positive image of an industrious and intellectual young man, earned him a great deal of social respect; though even after Franklin had achieved fame as a scientist and statesman, he habitually signed his letters with the unpretentious 'B. Franklin, Printer.'
In 1731, Franklin was initiated into the local
FreemasonFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million, including just under two million in the United States and around 480,000 in...
lodge, becoming a grand master in 1734, indicating his rapid rise to prominence in Pennsylvania. That same year, he edited and published the first Masonic book in the Americas, a reprint of James Anderson's
Constitutions of the Free-MasonsThere are a number of masonic manuscripts that are historically important in the development of Freemasonry.-The Halliwell Manuscript, or Regius Poem:...
. Franklin remained a Freemason throughout the rest of his life.
Common-law marriage to Deborah Read
At the age of 17, Franklin proposed to 15-year-old
Deborah ReadDeborah Read was the spouse of Benjamin Franklin, a prominent inventor, printer, thinker, and revolutionary....
while a boarder in the Read home. At that time, the mother was wary of allowing her young daughter to wed Franklin, who was on his way to London at Governor
Sir William Keith'sWilliam Keith was a lieutenant-governor of colonial Pennsylvania and Delaware.Keith was born in Boddam Castle near Peterhead, Scotland to Sir William Keith, Baronet, of Ludquhairn, Scotland and Lady Jean Keith. He was baptised on 16 February 1680. As eldest son, he stood to inherit the...
request, and also because of his financial instability. Her own husband having recently died, Mrs. Read declined his offer of marriage to her daughter.
While Franklin was in London, his trip was extended, and there were problems to do with Sir William's promises of support. Perhaps because of the circumstances of this delay, Deborah married a man named John Rodgers. This proved to be a regrettable decision. Rodgers shortly avoided his debts and prosecution by fleeing to
BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
with her
dowryA dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Compare bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both dowry...
, leaving Deborah behind. With Rodgers' fate unknown, and bigamy illegal, Deborah was not free to remarry.
Franklin established a
common-law marriageCommon-law marriage, sometimes called de facto marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status which is legally recognized in some jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage contract...
with Deborah Read on September 1, 1730, and besides taking in young William, together they had two children. The first, Francis Folger Franklin, born October 1732, died of
smallpoxSmallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in 1736.
Sarah FranklinSarah Franklin Bache was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess...
, nicknamed Sally, was born in 1743. She eventually married
Richard BacheRichard Bache , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. After arriving in Philadelphia from Yorkshire, England, in 1761, Bache prospered as a marine insurance underwriter and importer. In 1767, misfortune struck; debts contracted by him were repudiated by his London...
, had seven children, and cared for her father in his old age.
Deborah's fear of the sea meant that she never accompanied Franklin on any of his extended trips to Europe, despite his repeated requests. However, Franklin did not leave London to visit Deborah even after she wrote to him in November 1769 saying her illness was due to “dissatisfied distress” because of his prolonged absence. Deborah Read Franklin died of a
strokeA stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by thrombosis or embolism or due to a hemorrhage...
in 1774, while Benjamin was on an extended trip to England.
Illegitimate son William
In 1730, at the age of 24, Franklin publicly acknowledged an illegitimate son named
WilliamWilliam Franklin was the last Colonial Governor of New Jersey. William was a steadfast Loyalist throughout the Revolutionary War, despite his father's role as one of the most prominent Patriots during the conflict, a difference that tore the two apart.He was born in Philadelphia, the illegitimate...
, who would eventually become the last Loyalist governor of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
. While the identity of William's mother remains unknown, perhaps the responsibility of an infant child gave Franklin a reason to take up residence with Deborah Read. William was raised in the Franklin household but eventually broke with his father over opinions regarding the treatment of the colonies by the British government. The elder Franklin could never accept William's decision to declare his loyalty to the crown.
Any hope of reconcillation was shattered when William Franklin became leader of the The Board of Associated Loyalists—a quasi-military organization, headquartered in British occupied
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, which, among other things, launched guerilla forages into New Jersey, southern Connecticut, and New York counties north of the city. In the preliminary peace talks in 1782 with Britain "...Franklin insisted that loyalists who had borne arms against the United States would be excluded from this plea (that they be given a general pardon). He was undoubtedly thinking of William Franklin.". William left New York along with the British troops. He settled in England, never to return.
Success as an author
In 1733, Franklin began to publish the famous
Poor Richard's Almanack (with content both original and borrowed) under the
pseudonymA pseudonym is a fictitious name used by a person, or sometimes, a group.Pseudonyms are often used to hide an individual's real identity, as with writers' pen names, graffiti artists, resistance fighters' or terrorists' noms de guerre and computer hackers' handles. Actors, musicians, and other...
Richard Saunders, on which much of his popular reputation is based. Franklin frequently wrote under pseudonyms. Although it was no secret that Franklin was the author, his Richard Saunders character repeatedly denied it. "Poor Richard's Proverbs," adages from this almanac, such as "A penny saved is twopence dear" (often misquoted as "A penny saved is a penny earned"), "Fish and visitors stink in three days" remain common quotations in the modern world. Wisdom in folk society meant the ability to provide an apt adage for any occasion, and Franklin's readers became well prepared. He sold about ten thousand copies per year (a circulation equivalent to nearly three million today).
In 1758, the year in which he ceased writing for the Almanack, he printed
Father Abraham's Sermon, also known as
The Way to Wealth"The Way to Wealth" is an essay written by Benjamin Franklin in 1758. It is a collection of adages and advice presented in Poor Richard's Almanac during its first 25 years of publication, organized into a speech given by "Father Abraham" to a group of people. Many of the phrases Father Abraham...
. Franklin's
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
, published after his death, has become one of the classics of the genre.
Daylight saving timeDaylight saving time is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn...
(DST) is often erroneously attributed to a 1784 satire that Franklin published
anonymouslyAnonymity is derived from the Greek word ανωνυμία, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymous typically refers to a person, and often means that the personal identity, or personally identifiable information of that person is not known.More strictly, and in reference to...
. Modern DST was first proposed by
George Vernon HudsonGeorge Vernon Hudson was an New Zealand entomologist.Born in London, Hudson was the sixth child of Charles Hudson, an artist and stained-glass window designer. By the age of 14 he had already built up a collection of British insects, and had published a paper in The Entomologist. In 1881 Hudson...
in 1895.
Inventions and scientific inquiries
Franklin was a prodigious inventor. Among his many creations were the
lightning rodA lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod or conductor mounted on top of a building and electrically connected to the ground through a wire, to protect the building in the event of lightning...
, the glass armonica (a glass instrument, not to be confused with the metal harmonica), the
Franklin stoveA Franklin stove, named after its inventor, Benjamin Franklin, is a metal-lined fireplace. It has baffles in the rear to improve the airflow, providing more heat and less smoke than an ordinary open fireplace. It is also known as a circulating stove...
,
bifocal glassesBifocals are eyeglasses with two distinct optical powers. Bifocals are most commonly prescribed to people with presbyopia who also require a correction for myopia, hypermetropia, and/or astigmatism.-History:...
, and the flexible
urinary catheterIn urinary catheterization, or "cathing" for short, a plastic tube known as a urinary catheter is inserted into a patient's bladder via their urethra. Catheterization allows the patient's urine to drain freely from the bladder for collection, or to inject liquids used for treatment or diagnosis of...
. Franklin never patented his inventions; in his
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
he wrote, "... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously." His inventions also included
social innovationSocial innovation refers to new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds - from working conditions and education to community development and health - and that extend and strengthen civil society....
s, such as
paying forwardThe expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead. In contract law, typically there are two parties but there is the concept of third party beneficiaries. Pay it forward merely applies this contract law concept...
. Franklin's fascination with innovation could be viewed as altruistic; he wrote that his scientific works were to be used for increasing efficiency and human improvement. One such improvement was his effort to expedite news services through his printing presses.
As deputy postmaster, Franklin became interested in the
North AtlanticThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
Ocean circulation patterns. In 1768 Franklin visited England as postmaster general and there he heard a curious complaint by Colonial board of Customs: Why did it take British mail ships (which were called packets) a couple of weeks longer to reach
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
from England than it took an average merchant ship to reach
NewportNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States...
,
Rhode IslandRhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, despite merchants ships leaving
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
having to sail down Thames and then the length of the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
before they sailed across Atlantic, while the packets left from
FalmouthFalmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.The name Falmouth comes from the river Fal but the origin of the river's name is unknown....
in
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
right on the ocean's doorstep? Intrigued, Franklin invited his cousin Timothy Folger, an experienced Nantucket whaler captain, who happened to be in London at that time, for dinner. Folger told him that merchant ships routinely avoided the Gulf Stream, while the mail packet captains sailed dead into it, despite American whalers telling them that they were stemming a three-mile-per-hour current. Franklin worked with Folger and other experienced ship captains, learning enough to chart the
Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland...
, giving it the name by which it is still known today.
It took many years for British sea captains to follow Franklin's advice on navigating the current, but once they did, they were able to gain two weeks in sailing time. Franklin's Gulf Stream chart got published in 1770, in England where it was completely ignored. Subsequent versions were printed in France in 1778 and the United states in 1786. The British edition of the chart which was the original was so thoroughly ignored that everyone assumed it was lost forever until Phil Richardson, a
Woods Hole OceanographerThe Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers. Established in 1930, it is the largest independent oceanographic research...
and Gulf Stream expert, discovered it in
Bibliothèque NationaleThe Bibliothèque nationale de France is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. This got front page coverage in the
New York Times.
In 1743, Franklin founded the
American Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club, the Junto...
to help scientific men discuss their discoveries and theories. He began the electrical research that, along with other scientific inquiries, would occupy him for the rest of his life, in between bouts of politics and moneymaking.
In 1748, he retired from printing and went into other businesses. He created a partnership with his foreman, David Hall, which provided Franklin with half of the shop's profits for 18 years. This lucrative business arrangement provided leisure time for study, and in a few years he had made discoveries that gave him a reputation with the educated throughout Europe and especially in France.
His discoveries included his investigations of electricity. Franklin proposed that "vitreous" and "resinous" electricity were not different types of "
electrical fluidAlchemy, natural philosophy, and early modern physics proposed the existence of a medium of the æther , a space-filling substance or field, thought to be necessary as a transmission medium...
" (as electricity was called then), but the same electrical fluid under different pressures. He was the first to label them as
positive and negativeElectric charge is a fundamental conserved property of some subatomic particles, which determines their electromagnetic interaction. Electrically charged matter is influenced by, and produces, electromagnetic fields...
respectively, and he was the first to discover the principle of
conservation of chargeCharge conservation is the principle that electric charge can neither be created nor destroyed. The quantity of electric charge, the amount of positive charge minus the amount of negative charge in the universe, is always conserved....
. In 1750, he published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning is electricity by flying a
kiteA kite is a flying tethered aircraft that depends upon the tension of a tethering system. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates...
in a
stormA storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
that appeared capable of becoming a
lightningLightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
storm. On May 10, 1752,
Thomas-François DalibardThomas-François Dalibard was born in Crannes-en-Champagne, France in 1709 and died in 1799.-Relationship with Ben Franklin:He first met U.S. scientist Benjamin Franklin in 1767 during one of Franklin's visits to France and it is said that they became friends.In 1750, Benjamin Franklin published a...
of France conducted Franklin's experiment using a -tall iron rod instead of a kite, and he extracted electrical sparks from a cloud. On June 15, Franklin may have possibly conducted his famous kite experiment in Philadelphia and also successfully extracted sparks from a cloud, although there are theories that suggest he never performed the experiment. Franklin's experiment was not written up until
Joseph Priestley'sJoseph Priestley was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
1767
History and Present Status of Electricity; the evidence shows that Franklin was insulated (not in a conducting path, since he would have been in danger of
electrocutionAn electric shock can occur upon contact of a human body with any source of voltage high enough to cause sufficient current through the muscles or hair. The minimum current a human can feel is thought to be about 1 milliampere ....
in the event of a lightning strike). Others, such as Prof.
Georg Wilhelm RichmannGeorg Wilhelm Richmann was a German physicist living in Russia....
of
Saint Petersburg, RussiaSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, were electrocuted during the months following Franklin's experiment. In his writings, Franklin indicates that he was aware of the dangers and offered alternative ways to demonstrate that lightning was electrical, as shown by his use of the concept of
electrical groundIn electrical engineering, ground or earth may be the reference point in an electrical circuit from which other voltages are measured, or a common return path for electric current, or a direct physical connection to the Earth....
. If Franklin did perform this experiment, he may not have done it in the way that is often described, flying the kite and waiting to be struck by lightning, as it could have been dangerous. The popular television program
MythBustersMythBusters is a popular science television program produced by Australian company Beyond Television Productions originally for the Discovery Channel in the United States. The series has since been distributed by a number of international broadcasters, including SBS in Australia and BBC2 in the UK...
simulated the alleged "key at the end of a string" Franklin experiment and established with a degree of certainty that, if Franklin had indeed proceeded thus, he would undoubtedly have been killed. Instead, he used the kite to collect some electric charge from a storm cloud, which implied that lightning was electrical.
On October 19 in a letter to England explaining directions for repeating the experiment, Franklin wrote:
Franklin's electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod. He noted that conductors with a sharp rather than a smooth point were capable of discharging silently, and at a far greater distance. He surmised that this knowledge could be of use in protecting buildings from lightning, by attaching "upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground;...Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!" Following a series of experiments on Franklin's own house, lightning rods were installed on the Academy of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in 1752.
In recognition of his work with electricity, Franklin received the
Royal Society'sThe Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, or even the Royal, is a learned society for science that was founded in 1660 and is considered by most to be the oldest such society still in existence...
Copley MedalThe Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
in 1753, and in 1756 he became one of the few eighteenth century Americans to be elected as a Fellow of the Society. The
cgsThe centimetre-gram-second system is a metric system of physical units based on centimetre as the unit of length, gram as a unit of mass, and second as a unit of time...
unit of electric charge has been named after him: one
franklin (Fr) is equal to one
statcoulombThe statcoulomb or franklin or electrostatic unit of charge is the physical unit for electrical charge used in the centimetre-gram-second electrostatic system of units. It is a derived unit given by...
.
Franklin was, along with his contemporary Leonard Euler, the only major scientist who supported
Christiaan Huygens'Christiaan Huygens, FRS was a prominent Dutch mathematician, astronomer, physicist, horologist, and writer of early science fiction...
wave theory of light, basically ignored by the rest of
scientific communityThe scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
. In the 18th century
Newton'sSir Isaac Newton FRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is perceived and considered by a substantial number of scholars and the general public as one of the most influential men in history...
corpuscular theory was held to be true; only after the famous
Young'sThomas Young may refer to:*Thomas Young , Scottish Presbyterian and author*Thomas Young , member of the Sons of Liberty*Thomas Young , British polymath, scientist and Egyptologist...
slit experiment were most of the scientists persuaded to believe Huygens' theory.
On October 21, 1743, according to popular myth, a storm moving from the southwest denied Franklin the opportunity of witnessing a
lunar eclipseA lunar eclipse is an eclipse which occurs whenever the moon passes behind the earth such that the earth blocks the sun’s rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a...
. Franklin was said to have noted that the
prevailing windsIn meteorology, prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on the Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface...
were actually from the northeast, contrary to what he had expected. In correspondence with his brother, Franklin learned that the same storm had not reached Boston until after the eclipse, despite the fact that Boston is to the northeast of Philadelphia. He deduced that storms do not always travel in the direction of the prevailing wind, a concept which would have great influence in
meteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century...
.
Franklin noted a principle of
refrigerationRefrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable. The primary purpose of refrigeration is lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature.The term...
by observing that on a very hot day, he stayed cooler in a wet shirt in a breeze than he did in a dry one. To understand this phenomenon more clearly Franklin conducted experiments. On one warm day in
CambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. It is also at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen....
, England, in 1758, Franklin and fellow scientist
John HadleyJohn Hadley was an English mathematician, inventor of the octant and precursor to the sextant around 1730....
experimented by continually wetting the ball of a mercury
thermometerA thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor A thermometer (from the Greek θερμός (thermo) meaning "warm" and meter, "to measure") is a device that measures...
with
etherDiethyl ether, also known as ether, ethyl ether and ethoxyethane, is a clear, colorless, and highly flammable liquid with a low boiling point and a characteristic odor. It is the most common member of a class of chemical compounds known generically as ethers. It is an isomer of butanol...
and using
bellowsA bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location. Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
to evaporate the ether. With each subsequent
evaporationEvaporation is the vaporization of a liquid and the reverse, of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid state spontaneously become gaseous . Generally, evaporation can be seen by the gradual disappearance of a liquid from a substance when exposed...
, the thermometer read a lower temperature, eventually reaching 7 °F (−14 °C). Another thermometer showed the room
temperatureIn physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics...
to be constant at 65 °F (18 °C). In his letter "Cooling by Evaporation," Franklin noted that "one may see the possibility of freezing a man to death on a warm summer’s day."
An aging Franklin accumulated all his Oceanographic findings in
Maritime Observations, published by the Philosophical Society's
transactions in 1786. It contained ideas for
sea anchorA sea anchor, used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather, anchors not to the sea floor but to the water itself, as a kind of brake. Sea anchors are known by a number of names, such as drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor, and boat brakes...
s,
catamaranA catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
hulls, watertight compartments, shipboard lighting rods, and a soup bowl designed to stay stable in stormy weather!
Musical endeavors
Franklin is known to have played the
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
, the
harpA harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. As many other non-percussion instruments, it can also be used as a percussion instrument. All harps have a neck, resonator and strings. Some, known as frame harps, also have a forepillar;...
, and the
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
. He also composed music, notably a
string quartetA string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments — usually two violins, a viola and cello — or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
in
early classical styleThe dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as approximately 1750 to 1825. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or seventeenth to...
, and invented a much-improved version of the
glass harmonicaThe glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction The glass harmonica, also known as the glass...
, in which each glass was made to rotate on its own, with the player's fingers held steady, instead of the other way around; this version soon found its way to Europe.
Chess
Franklin was an avid
chessChess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
player. He was playing chess by around 1733, making him the first chess player known by name in the American colonies. His essay on the "Morals of Chess" in
Columbian magazine, in December 1786 is the second known writing on chess in America. This essay in praise of chess and prescribing a code of behavior for it has been widely reprinted and translated. He and a friend also used chess as a means of learning the
Italian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
, which both were studying; the winner of each game between them had the right to assign a task, such as parts of the Italian grammar to be learned by heart, to be performed by the loser before their next meeting. Franklin was inducted into the US Chess
Hall of FameA hall of fame is a type of museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field.In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or museums which enshrine the honorees with sculptures, plaques, and displays of memorabilia...
in 1999.
Public life
In 1736, Franklin created the
Union Fire CompanyUnion Fire Company, sometimes called Benjamin Franklin's Bucket Brigade, was a volunteer fire department formed in Philadelphia in 1736 with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin. The first fire fighting organization in Philadelphia, though followed within the year by the Fellowship Fire Company...
, one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the same year, he printed a new currency for
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
based on innovative anti-
counterfeitA counterfeit product is an imitation which infringes upon a production monopoly held by either a state or corporation. Goods are produced with the intent to bypass this monopoly and thus take advantage of the established worth of the previous product...
ing techniques which he had devised. Throughout his career, Franklin was an advocate for
paper moneyA banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. Along with coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern money...
, publishing
A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency in 1729, and his printer printed money. He was influential in the more restrained and thus successful monetary experiments in the Middle Colonies, which stopped deflation without causing excessive inflation. In 1766 he made a case for paper money to the British House of Commons.
As he matured, Franklin began to concern himself more with public affairs. In 1743, he set forth a scheme for
The Academy and College of PhiladelphiaThe Academy and College of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, is considered by many to have been the first American academy. It was founded in 1749 by Benjamin Franklin....
. He was appointed president of the academy in November 13, 1749, and it opened on August 13, 1751. At its first commencement, on May 17, 1757, seven men graduated; six with a
Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
and one as
Master of ArtsA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
. It was later merged with the University of the State of Pennsylvania to become the University of Pennsylvania.
Franklin became involved in Philadelphia politics and rapidly progressed. In October 1748, he was selected as a councilman, in June 1749 he became a
Justice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Philadelphia, and in 1751 he was elected to the
Pennsylvania AssemblyThe Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, also known as the Colonial Assembly, the General Assembly, or simply the Pennsylvania Assembly, was the representative branch of government in the Province of Pennsylvania...
. On August 10, 1753, Franklin was appointed joint deputy postmaster-general of North America. His most notable service in domestic politics was his reform of the
postal systemMail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal...
, but his fame as a statesman rests chiefly on his subsequent diplomatic services in connection with the relations of the colonies with Great Britain, and later with France.
In 1751, Franklin and
Dr. Thomas BondThomas Bond was an American physician and surgeon. In 1751 he co-founded the Pennsylvania Hospital, the first medical facility in the American colonies, with Benjamin Franklin, and also volunteered his services there as both physician and teacher.-Education and professional life:Bond was born in...
obtained a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature to establish a hospital.
Pennsylvania HospitalPennsylvania Hospital is a hospital in Center City, Philadelphia, currently affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System...
was the first hospital in what was to become the United States of America.
In 1753, both
HarvardHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and
YaleYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
awarded him
honorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements...
s.
In 1754, he headed the Pennsylvania delegation to the Albany Congress. This meeting of several colonies had been requested by the
Board of TradeThe Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
in England to improve relations with the Indians and defense against the French. Franklin proposed a broad
Plan of UnionThe Albany Plan was proposed by Benjamin Franklin at the Albany Congress in 1754 in Albany, New York. It was an early attempt at forming a union of the colonies "under one government as far as might be necessary for defense and other general important purposes" during the French and Indian War...
for the colonies. While the plan was not adopted, elements of it found their way into the
Articles of ConfederationThe Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly referred to as the Articles of Confederation, was the first constitution of the United States of America and legally established the union of the states. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles in June...
and the Constitution.
In 1756, Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia (see "Associated Regiment of Philadelphia" under heading of Pennsylvania's 103rd Artillery and 111th Infantry Regiment at
Continental ArmyThe American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen...
). He used
Tun TavernTun Tavern was a tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which served as a founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where the United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive. It is also regarded as the "birthplace of Masonic...
as a gathering place to recruit a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the Native American uprisings that beset the American colonies. Reportedly Franklin was elected "Colonel" of the Associated Regiment but declined the honor.
Also in 1756, Franklin became a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (now Royal Society of Arts or RSA, which had been founded in 1754), whose early meetings took place in
coffee shopsA coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages...
in London's
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden...
district, close to Franklin's main residence in Craven Street (the only one of his residences to survive and which opened to the public as the
Benjamin Franklin HouseBenjamin Franklin House is a museum in a terraced house in Craven Street, London, close to Trafalgar Square. It is the only surviving former home of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The house dates from circa 1730 and Franklin lived and worked there for sixteen...
museum on January 17, 2006). After his return to America, Franklin became the Society's Corresponding Member and remained closely connected with the Society. The RSA instituted a Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Franklin's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership of the RSA.
In 1757, he was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family, the proprietors of the colony. He remained there for five years, striving to end the proprietors' prerogative to overturn legislation from the elected Assembly, and their exemption from paying taxes on their land. His lack of influential allies in
WhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I, which is often regarded as the heart of London...
led to the failure of this mission.
Whilst in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, Franklin became involved in radical politics. He was a member of the Club of Honest Whigs, alongside thinkers such as
Richard PriceRichard Price , was a Welsh moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
, the minister of
Newington Green Unitarian ChurchNewington Green Unitarian Church in north London is one of England's oldest Unitarian churches. It has had strong ties to political radicalism for over 300 years, and is London's oldest Nonconformist place of worship still in use...
who ignited the
Revolution ControversyThe Revolution Controversy, a British debate over the French Revolution, lasted from 1789 through 1795. A pamphlet war began in earnest after the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France , which surprisingly supported the French aristocracy...
. During his stays at Craven Street between 1757 and 1775, Franklin developed a close friendship with his landlady, Margaret Stevenson and her circle of friends and relations, in particular her daughter Mary, who was more often known as Polly.
In 1759, he visited
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
with his son, and recalled his conversations there as "the
densest happiness of my life.". In February 1759, the
University of St AndrewsThe University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413...
awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree and in October of the same year he was granted Freedom of the Borough of St. Andrews.
In 1762,
Oxford UniversityThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
awarded Franklin an honorary doctorate for his scientific accomplishments and from then on he went by "Doctor Franklin." He also managed to secure a post for his illegitimate son, William Franklin, as
Colonial Governor of New JerseyThe Governor of New Jersey is the chief executive of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The current holder of that office is Jon Corzine, who re-assumed executive powers on May 7, 2007 from acting Gov. Richard Codey, after recuperating from an automobile accident on April 12, 2007...
.
He also joined the influential
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
based
Lunar SocietyThe Lunar Society was a dinner club and informal learned society of prominent industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham, England. At first called the Lunar Circle, "Lunar Society" became the formal name by 1775...
with whom he regularly corresponded and on occasion, visited in Birmingham in the West Midlands.
Coming of Revolution
In 1763, soon after Franklin returned to Pennsylvania, the western frontier was engulfed in a bitter war known as
Pontiac's RebellionPontiac's Rebellion was a war launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British policies in the Great Lakes region after the British victory in the French...
. The
Paxton BoysThe Paxton Boys was a vigilante group that murdered at least twenty Native Americans in events sometimes called the Conestoga Massacre. Backcountry Presbyterian Scots-Irish frontiersmen from central Pennsylvania, near Paxton Church, Paxtang, Pennsylvania, now Dauphin County, formed a vigilante...
, a group of settlers convinced that the Pennsylvania government was not doing enough to protect them from
American IndianNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
raids, murdered a group of peaceful
SusquehannockThe Susquehannock people were natives of areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
Indians and then marched on Philadelphia. Franklin helped to organize the local militia in order to defend the capital against the mob, and then met with the Paxton leaders and persuaded them to disperse. Franklin wrote a scathing attack against the
racial prejudiceRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
of the Paxton Boys. "If an
Indian injures me," he asked, "does it follow that I may revenge that Injury on all
Indians?"
At this time, many members of the Pennsylvania Assembly were feuding with William Penn's heirs, who controlled the colony as
proprietorsA proprietary colony is a colony in which one or more private land owners retain rights that are normally the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so.-In the British Empire:...
. Franklin led the "anti-proprietary party" in the struggle against the Penn family, and was elected
Speaker of the Pennsylvania HouseThe speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives holds the oldest state-wide elected office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since its first session under the Frame of Government in 1682, presided over by William Penn, over 130 House members have been elevated to the speaker's chair...
in May 1764. His call for a change from proprietary to royal government was a rare political miscalculation, however: Pennsylvanians worried that such a move would endanger their political and religious freedoms. Because of these fears, and because of political attacks on his character, Franklin lost his seat in the October 1764 Assembly elections. The anti-proprietary party dispatched Franklin to England to continue the struggle against the Penn family proprietorship, but during this visit, events would drastically change the nature of his mission.
In London, Franklin opposed the
1765 Stamp ActThe Stamp Act of 1765 was a tax imposed by the British Parliament on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies carry a tax stamp. These printed materials were legal documents, magazines, newspapers and practically all forms of paper used...
, but when he was unable to prevent its passage, he made another political miscalculation and recommended a friend to the post of stamp distributor for Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians were outraged, believing that he had supported the measure all along, and threatened to destroy his home in Philadelphia. Franklin soon learned of the extent of colonial resistance to the Stamp Act, and his testimony before the House of Commons led to its repeal. With this, Franklin suddenly emerged as the leading spokesman for American interests in England. He wrote popular essays on behalf of the colonies, and
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, and
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
also appointed him as their agent to the Crown.
In September 1767, Franklin visited Paris with his usual traveling partner,
Sir John PringleSir John Pringle, 1st Baronet, FRS, was a Scottish physician who has been called the "father of military medicine" ....
. News of his electrical discoveries was widespread in France. His reputation meant that he was introduced to many influential scientists and politicians, and also to
King Louis XVLouis XV ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774...
.
While living in London in 1768, he developed a
phonetic alphabetBenjamin Franklin's phonetic alphabet was Benjamin Franklin's proposal for a spelling reform of the English language. It used many of the same letters, but changed some of them and what sounds they represented. It was one of the earliest proposed spelling reforms to the English language.Long vowels...
in
A Scheme for a new Alphabet and a Reformed Mode of Spelling. This reformed alphabet discarded six letters Franklin regarded as redundant (c, j, q, w, x, and y), and substituted six new letters for sounds he felt lacked letters of their own. His new alphabet, however, never caught on and he eventually lost interest.
In 1771, Franklin made short journeys through different parts of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, staying with
Joseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
at
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. The historic core at the heart of Leeds in 2001 had an estimated subdivision population of 443,247, whilst the entire city, that includes the urban and suburban areas incorporated into the city in 1974, had an estimated...
,
Thomas PercivalThomas Percival was an English physician best known for crafting perhaps the first modern code of medical ethics. He drew up a pamphlet with the code in 1794 and wrote an expanded version in 1803, in which he reportedly coined the expression "medical ethics".-Life:He was born at Warrington at...
at
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
and Dr. Darwin at Litchfield. Franklin belonged to a gentleman's club (designated "honest Whigs" by Franklin) which held stated meetings, and included members such as
Richard PriceRichard Price , was a Welsh moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
and
Andrew KippisAndrew Kippis , was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer.The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to school at Sleaford in Lincolnshire he passed at the age of sixteen to the nonconformist academy at Northampton, of which Dr Philip Doddridge was...
. He was also a corresponding member of the
Lunar SocietyThe Lunar Society was a dinner club and informal learned society of prominent industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham, England. At first called the Lunar Circle, "Lunar Society" became the formal name by 1775...
of
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
, which included such other scientific and industrial luminaries as
Matthew BoultonMatthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
,
James WattJames Watt FRS was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both the Kingdom of Great Britain and the world.-Biography:James Watt was born on 19 January 1736 in Greenock,...
, Josiah Wedgewood and
Erasmus DarwinErasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down the invitation of George III for him to be a Royal Physician. He was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, abolitionist, inventor and poet...
. He had never been to Ireland before, and met and stayed with Lord Hillsborough, whom he believed was especially attentive, but of whom he noted
all the plausible behaviour I have described is meant only, by patting and stroking the horse, to make him more patient, while the reins are drawn tighter, and the spurs set deeper into his sides. In
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
, Franklin was invited to sit with the members of the
Irish ParliamentThe Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. It comprised two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords...
rather than in the gallery. He was the first American to be given this honor. While touring Ireland, he was moved by the level of poverty he saw. Ireland's economy was affected by the same trade regulations and laws of Britain which governed America. Franklin feared that America could suffer the same effects should Britain’s "colonial exploitation" continue. In Scotland, he spent five days with Lord Kames near
StirlingStirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and mediæval old-town beside the River Forth...
and stayed for three weeks with
David HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, economist, historian and a key figure in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
in
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
.
In 1773, Franklin published two of his most celebrated pro-American satirical essays:
Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One, and
An Edict by the King of Prussia. He also published an
Abridgment of the Book of Common Prayer, anonymously with
Francis DashwoodFrancis Dashwood, 15th Baron le Despencer was an English rake and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer and founder of the Hellfire Club.-Early life:...
. Among the unusual features of this work is a
funeral serviceA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
reduced to six minutes in length, "to preserve the health and lives of the living."
Hutchinson letters
Franklin obtained private letters of Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson and lieutenant governor
Andrew OliverAndrew Oliver was a merchant and public official in colonial Massachusetts.Born in Boston, he was the son of Daniel Oliver, a merchant, and Elizabeth Belcher Oliver, daughter of Governor Jonathan Belcher. Andrew had two brothers: Daniel Oliver and Peter Oliver...
which proved they were encouraging London to crack down on the rights of the Bostonians. Franklin sent them to America where they escalated the tensions. Franklin now appeared to the British as the fomenter of serious trouble. Hopes for a peaceful solution ended as he was systematically ridiculed and humiliated by the Privy Council. He left London in March, 1775.
Declaration of Independence
By the time Franklin arrived in Philadelphia on May 5, 1775, the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
had begun with fighting at
Lexington and ConcordThe battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
. The New England
militiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
had trapped the main British army in Boston. The Pennsylvania Assembly unanimously chose Franklin as their delegate to the
Second Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
. In June, 1776, he was appointed a member of the
Committee of FiveThe Committee of Five was the committee of the Second Continental Congress that drafted and presented the United States Declaration of Independence....
that drafted the
Declaration of IndependenceThe United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire...
. Although he was temporarily disabled by
goutGout is a disease hallmarked by elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. In this condition, crystals of monosodium urate or uric acid are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues...
and unable to attend most meetings of the Committee, Franklin made several small changes to the draft sent to him by
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence , and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of republicanism in the United States...
.
At the signing, he is quoted as having replied to a comment by
HancockJohn Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
that they must all hang together: "Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Ambassador to France: 1776–1785
In December, 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France as
commissionerCommissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission, in the sense of a mandate, whether individually or shared, notably as member of a collegial commission....
for the United States. He lived in a home in the Parisian suburb of
PassyPassy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
, donated by
Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de ChaumontJacques-Donatien Le Ray was a French "Father of the American Revolution", but later an opponent of the French Revolution. His son of the same name, known also in America as James Le Ray, eventually became a United States citizen and settled in Le Ray, New York USA.-Early life:Born in the port...
who supported the United States. Franklin remained in France until 1785. He conducted the affairs of his country towards the French nation with great success, which included securing a critical military alliance in 1778 and negotiating the
Treaty of Paris (1783)The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America, which had...
. During his stay in France, Benjamin Franklin as a freemason was Grand Master of the Lodge
Les Neuf SœursLoge Les Neuf Sœurs , established in Paris in 1776, was a prominent French Masonic Lodge of the Grand Orient de France that was influential in organising French support for the American Revolution. A "Société des Neuf Sœurs," a charitable society that surveyed academic curricula, had been active at...
from 1779 until 1781. His number was 24 in the Lodge. He was also a Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania. In 1784, when
Franz MesmerFranz Anton Mesmer was a German physician and astrologist, who discovered what he called magnétisme animal and other spiritual forces often grouped together as mesmerism. The evolution of Mesmer's ideas and practices led Scottish surgeon James Braid to develop hypnosis in 1842...
began to publicize his theory of "animal magnetism", which was considered offensive by many,
Louis XVILouis XVI of France ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. Suspended and arrested during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792, he was tried by the National Convention, found guilty of treason, and executed by guillotine on 21...
appointed a commission to investigate it. These included the chemist
Antoine LavoisierAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ; ), the father of modern chemistry, was a French noble prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
, the physician
Joseph-Ignace GuillotinDr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin was a French physician who proposed on 10 October 1789 the use of a mechanical device to carry out death penalties in France. While he did not invent the guillotine, his name became an eponym for it.-Biography:Guillotin composed an essay to obtain the degree of master...
, the astronomer
Jean Sylvain BaillyJean-Sylvain Bailly was a French astronomer and orator, one of the leaders of the early part of the French Revolution...
, and Benjamin Franklin.
Constitutional Convention
When he finally returned home in 1785, Franklin occupied a position only second to that of
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
as the champion of American independence. Le Ray honored him with a commissioned portrait painted by
Joseph DuplessisJoseph-Siffred Duplessis was a French painter, known for the clarity and immediacy of his portraits.He was born in Carpentras, near Avignon, into a family with an artistic bent and received his first training from his father, a surgeon and talented amateur, then with Joseph-Gabriel Imbert , who...
that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the
Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazines...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
After his return, Franklin became an abolitionist, freeing both of his slaves. He eventually became president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.
In 1787, Franklin served as a delegate to the
Philadelphia ConventionThe Philadelphia Convention took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of...
. He held an honorary position and seldom engaged in debate. He is the only Founding Father who is a signatory of all four of the major documents of the founding of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, the
Treaty of AllianceThe Treaty of Alliance, also called the The Treaty of Alliance with France, was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future...
with France, and
the United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
.
In 1787, a group of prominent ministers in
Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351, it is the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Bethlehem, and Scranton...
, proposed the foundation of a new college to be named in Franklin's honor. Franklin donated £200 towards the development of Franklin College, which is now called
Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania...
.
Between 1771 and 1788, he finished his
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
. While it was at first addressed to his son, it was later completed for the benefit of mankind at the request of a friend.
In his later years, as Congress was forced to deal with the issue of slavery, Franklin wrote several essays that attempted to convince his readers of the importance of the
abolition of slaveryAbolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
and of the integration of blacks into American society. These writings included:
- An Address to the Public, (1789)
- A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789), and
- Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim on the Slave Trade (1790).
In 1790, Quakers from New York and Pennsylvania presented their petition for abolition. Their argument against slavery was backed by the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society and its president, Benjamin Franklin.
President of Pennsylvania
Special balloting conducted October 18, 1785 unanimously elected Franklin the sixth President of the
Supreme Executive Council of PennsylvaniaThe Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania comprised the executive branch of the Pennsylvania State government between 1777 and 1790...
, replacing John Dickinson. The office of President of Pennsylvania was analogous to the modern position of
Governor. It is not clear why Dickinson needed to be replaced with less than two weeks remaining before the regular election. Franklin held that office for slightly over three years, longer than any other, and served the Constitutional limit of three full terms. Shortly after his initial election he was reelected to a full term on October 29, 1785, and again in the fall of 1786 and on October 31, 1787. Officially, his term concluded on November 5, 1788, but there is some question regarding the
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
end of his term, suggesting that the aging Franklin may not have been actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the Council toward the end of his time in office.
Virtue, religion, and personal beliefs
Like the other advocates of
republicanismRepublicanism is the value system of governance that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution. It stresses liberty and rights as central values, makes the people as a whole sovereign, rejects inherited political power, expects citizens to be independent in...
, Franklin emphasized that the new republic could survive only if the people were virtuous. All his life he explored the role of civic and personal virtue, as expressed in
Poor Richard's aphorismThe word aphorism denotes an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and easily memorable form....
s. Franklin was a non-dogmatic believer, who felt that organized religion was necessary to keep men good to their fellow men, but rarely attended church himself. His faith in God was an important factor in his support for the American Revolution. When Ben Franklin met
VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, and philosopher known for his wit and his defense of civil liberties, including both freedom of religion and free trade.Voltaire was a prolific writer and produced works in almost every...
in Paris and asked this great apostle of the Enlightenment to bless his grandson, Voltaire said in English, “God and Liberty,” and added, “this is the only appropriate benediction for the grandson of Monsieur Franklin.”
Franklin’s parents were both pious Puritans. The family attended the old South Church, the most liberal Puritan congregation in Boston, where Benjamin Franklin was baptized in 1706. The Revolutionary War generation of this historic congregation include Samuel Adams;
Samuel SewallSamuel Sewall , was a Massachusetts judge, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay The Selling of Joseph , which criticized slavery.-Biography:...
, judge and diarist; Thomas Prince, minister and book collector;
William DawesWilliam Dawes, Jr. was one of the three men who alerted colonial minutemen of the approach of British army troops prior to the Battle of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution.-Early life:...
, Paul Revere’s fellow rider in 1775. Old South Church played a significant role in the revolution through the bold actions of the Sons of Liberty at the Old South Meeting House. There, in 1773,
Samuel AdamsSamuel Adams was a statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American republicanism...
gave the signal for the “war whoops” that started
the Boston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and...
. As poet
John Greenleaf WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
wrote, “So long as Boston shall Boston be, And her bay tides rise and fall, Shall freedom stand in the Old South Church, And plead for the rights of all.”
Franklin’s Puritan upbringing was a central factor throughout his life, as a philanthropist, civic leader and activist in the Revolutionary War. Franklin rejected much of his Puritan upbringing: belief in salvation, hell, Jesus Christ’s divinity, and indeed most religious dogma. He retained a strong faith in God as the wellspring of morality and goodness in man, and as a Providential actor in history responsible for American independence. He often invoked God as being in support of the American Revolution, as did most of the founding generation. Franklin wrote, “Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God.”
Ben Franklin’s father, a poor chandler, owned a copy of a book, Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good, by the famous Puritan preacher, and family friend,
Cotton MatherCotton Mather . A.B. 1678 , A.M. 1681; honorary doctorate 1710 , was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Cotton Mather is often remembered for his connection to the Salem witch trials...
, which “Franklin often cited as a key influence” on his life. “”If I have been,” Franklin wrote to Cotton Mather’s son seventy years later, “a useful citizen, the public owes the advantage of it to that book.” Franklin’s first pen name, Silence Dogood, paid homage both to the book and to a famous sermon by Mather.” The book preached the importance of forming voluntary associations to benefit society. Cotton Mather personally founded a neighborhood improvement group, that Franklin’s father joined. “Franklin picked up his penchant for forming do-good associations from Cotton Mather and others, but his organizational fervor and galvanizing personality made him the most influential force in instilling this as an enduring part of American life.”
It was Ben Franklin who during a critical impasse during the Constitutional Convention, 28 June 1787, introduced the practice of daily common prayer at the Convention, with these words:
... In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. -- Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. ... And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance.
I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: ...I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.
Franklin briefly belonged to a
Presbyterian ChurchPresbyterianism is the religion of a number of different Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, and organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity...
in Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter, he became an enthusiastic supporter of one of America’s great evangelical ministers,
George WhitefieldGeorge Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, , was an Anglican itinerant minister who helped spread the Great Awakening in Great Britain and, especially, in the British North American colonies. His ministry had tremendous impact on American ideology.-Early life:He was born at the Bell Inn,...
, “the most popular of the Great Awakening’s roving preachers.” Franklin did not subscribe to Whitefield’s theology, but he admired Whitefield for exhorting people to worship God through good works. Franklin printed Whitefield’s sermons on the front page of his Gazette. He arranged to publish all of Whitefield’s sermons and journals. Half of Franklin’s publications in 1739-41 were of Whitefield, and helped the success of the evangelical movement in America. Franklin was a lifelong friend and supporter of Whitefield, until his death in 1770.
When he stopped attending church, Franklin wrote in his autobiography:
...Sunday being my studying day, I never was without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that He made the world, and governed it by His providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter.
Franklin retained a lifelong commitment to the Puritan virtues and political values he had grown up with, and through his civic work and publishing, he succeeded in passing these values into the American culture permanently. He had a “passion for virtue.” These Puritan values included his devotion to
egalitarianismEgalitarianism has two distinct definitions in modern English. It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic...
, education, industry, thrift, honesty, temperance, charity and community spirit.
The classical authors read in the Enlightenment period taught an abstract ideal of republican government based on hierarchical social orders of king, aristrocracy and commoners. It was widely believed that English liberties relied on their balance of power, but also hierarchal deference to the privileged class. “Puritanism ... and the epidemic evangelism of the mid-eighteenth century, had created challenges to the traditional notions of social stratification” by preaching that the Bible taught all men are equal, that the true value of a man lies in his moral behavior, not his class, and that all men can be saved. Franklin, steeped in Puritanism and an enthusiastic supporter of the evangelical movement, rejected the salvation dogma, but embraced the radical notion of egalitarian democracy.
Franklin’s commitment to teach these values was itself something he gained from his Puritan upbringing, with its stress on “inculcating virtue and character in themselves and their communities.” These Puritan values and the desire to pass them on, were one of Franklin’s quintessentially American characteristics, and helped shape the character of the nation. Franklin's writings on
virtueVirtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a character trait or quality valued as being good.Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual and collective well-being, and thus good by definition. The opposite of virtue is vice.-Virtues and values:Virtues can be placed into a...
were derided by some European authors, such as Jackob Fugger in his critical work
Portrait of American Culture.
Max WeberMaximilian Carl Emil Weber was a German lawyer, politician, historian, sociologist and political economist, who profoundly influenced social theory and the remit of sociology itself. His major works dealt with the rationalization, bureaucratization, and 'disenchantment' he associated with the...
considered Franklin's ethical writings a culmination of the
Protestant ethicThe Protestant Work Ethic, sometimes called the Puritan Work Ethic, is a sociological, theoretical concept. It is based upon the notion that the Calvinist emphasis on the necessity for hard work is proponent of a person's calling and worldly success is a sign of personal salvation...
, which ethic created the social conditions necessary for the birth of
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
.
One of Franklin's famous characteristics was his respect, tolerance and promotion of all churches. Referring to his experience in Philadelphia, he wrote in his
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
, "new Places of worship were continually wanted, and generally erected by voluntary Contribution, my Mite for such purpose, whatever might be the Sect, was never refused." “He helped create a new type of nation that would draw strength from its religious pluralism.” The first generation of Puritans had been intolerant of dissent, but by the early 1700’s, when Franklin grew up in the Puritan church, tolerance of different churches was the norm, and Massachusetts was known, in John Adams' words, as “’the most mild and equitable establishment of religion that was known in the world.’” The evangelical revivalists who were active mid-century, such as Franklin’s friend and preacher, George Whitefield, were the greatest advocates of religious freedom, “claiming liberty of conscience to be an ‘inalienable right of every rational creature.’” Whitefield’s supporters in Philadelphia, including Franklin, erected “a large, new hall, that...could provide a pulpit to anyone of any belief.” Franklin’s rejection of dogma and doctrine and his stress on the God of ethics and morality and civic virtue, made him the “prophet of tolerance.”
Although Franklin's parents had intended for him to have a career in the church, Franklin as a young man adopted the Enlightenment religious belief in
DeismDeism or is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme being created the universe, and that this can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without a need for either faith or organized religion...
, that God’s truths can be found entirely through nature and reason. "I soon became a thorough Deist." As a young man he rejected Christian dogma in a 1725 pamphlet
A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and PainA Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain is a philosophical pamphlet by Benjamin Franklin, published in London in 1725.It argues that an omnipotent, benevolent God is incompatible with notions of human free will and morality....
, which he later saw as an embarrassment, while simultaneously asserting that God is “all wise, all good, all powerful.” He defended his rejection of religious dogma with these words: "I think opinions should be judged by their influences and effects; and if a man holds none that tend to make him less virtuous or more vicious, it may be concluded that he holds none that are dangerous, which I hope is the case with me." After the disillusioning experience of seeing the decay in his own moral standards, and those of two friends in London whom he had converted to Deism, Franklin turned back to a belief in the importance of organized religion, on the pragmatic grounds that without God and organized churches, man will not be good.
At one point, he wrote to
Thomas PaineThomas Paine was an author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in England, Paine emigrated to the British American colonies in 1774 in time to participate in the American Revolution...
, criticizing his manuscript,
The Age of ReasonThe Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a deistic pamphlet, written by eighteenth-century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, that criticizes institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible...
:
According to David Morgan, Franklin was a proponent of religion in general. He prayed to
"Powerful Goodness" and referred to God as "the infinite".
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American politician and the second President of the United States , after being the first Vice President for two terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States.Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution...
noted that Franklin was a mirror in which people saw their own religion: "The
CatholicsCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
thought him almost a Catholic. The
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
claimed him as one of them. The Presbyterians thought him half a Presbyterian, and the Friends believed him a wet Quaker." Whatever else Franklin was, concludes Morgan, "he was a true champion of generic religion." In a letter to Richard Price, Franklin stated that he believed that religion should support itself without help from the government, claiming; "When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and, when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig'd to call for the help of the Civil Power, it is a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."
In 1790, just about a month before he died, Franklin wrote a letter to
Ezra StilesThe Rev. Ezra Stiles was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian and author. He was president of Yale College .-Biography:...
, president of
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
, who had asked him his views on religion:
On July 4, 1776, Congress appointed a committee that included Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams to design the
Great Seal of the United StatesThe Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it...
. Franklin's proposal featured a design with the motto: "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God." His design portrayed a scene from the Book of Exodus, with
MosesMoses was, according to biblical texts, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbeinu in Hebrew Moses was, according to biblical texts, a...
, the
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
ites, the pillar of fire, and George III depicted as
PharaohPharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt. This was true only during the New Kingdom, specifically during the middle of...
.
Thirteen Virtues
Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of thirteen virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His
autobiographyThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
lists his thirteen virtues as:
- "TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."
- "SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation."
- "ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time."
- "RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."
- "FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."
- "INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions."
- "SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly."
- "JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty."
- "MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve."
- "CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation."
- "TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable."
- "CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation."
- "HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
and Socrates Socrates was a Classical Greek philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known only through the classical accounts of his students...
."
Franklin didn't try to work on them all at once. Instead, he would work on one and only one each week "leaving all others to their ordinary chance". While Franklin didn't live completely by his virtues and by his own admission, he fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt made him a better man contributing greatly to his success and happiness, which is why in his autobiography, he devoted more pages to this plan than to any other single point; in his autobiography Franklin wrote, "I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit."
Death and legacy
Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. His funeral was attended by approximately 20,000 people. He was interred in
Christ Church Burial GroundChrist Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an important early-American cemetery. It is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife, Deborah. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Francis Hopkinson, Joseph Hewes...
in Philadelphia. In 1728, aged 22, Franklin wrote what he hoped would be his own epitaph:
The Body of B. Franklin Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and Amended By the Author.
Franklin's actual grave, however, as he specified in his final will, simply reads "Benjamin and Deborah Franklin."
In 1773, when Franklin's work had moved from printing to science and politics, he corresponded with a French scientist on the subject of preserving the dead for later revival by more advanced scientific methods, writing:
I should prefer to an ordinary death, being immersed with a few friends in a cask of Madeira, until that time, then to be recalled to life by the solar warmth of my dear country! But in all probability, we live in a century too little advanced, and too near the infancy of science, to see such an art brought in our time to its perfection. (Extended excerpt also online.)
His death is described in the book
The Life of Benjamin Franklin, quoting from the account of Dr. John Jones:
...when the pain and difficulty of breathing entirely left him, and his family were flattering themselves with the hopes of his recovery, when an imposthume, which had formed itself in his lungs, suddenly burst, and discharged a quantity of matter, which he continued to throw up while he had power; but, as that failed, the organs of respiration became gradually oppressed; a calm, lethargic state succeeded; and on the 17th instant (April, 1790), about eleven o'clock at night, he quietly expired, closing a long and useful life of eighty-four years and three months.
Franklin
bequeathedA bequest is the act of receiving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. It means the same thing as bequeath in legal terminology....
£1,000 (about $4,400 at the time) each to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia, in trust to gather interest for 200 years. The trust began in 1785 when the French mathematician
Charles-Joseph Mathon de la CourCharles-Joseph Mathon de la Cour was a French art critic, mathematician, financier, and essayist...
, who admired Franklin greatly, wrote a friendly
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanack" called "Fortunate Richard." The main character leaves a smallish amount of money in his will, five lots of 100
livreThe livre was the currency of France until 1795. Several different livres existed, some concurrently. The livre was the name of both units of account and coins.-Origin:...
s, to collect interest over one, two, three, four or five full centuries, with the resulting astronomical sums to be spent on impossibly elaborate utopian projects. Franklin, who was 79 years old at the time, wrote thanking him for a great idea and telling him that he had decided to leave a bequest of 1,000 pounds each to his native Boston and his adopted Philadelphia. As of 1990, more than $2,000,000 had accumulated in Franklin's Philadelphia trust, which had loaned the money to local residents. From 1940 to 1990, the money was used mostly for mortgage loans. When the trust came due, Philadelphia decided to spend it on scholarships for local high school students. Franklin's Boston trust fund accumulated almost $5,000,000 during that same time; at the end of its first 100 years a portion was allocated to help establish a
trade schoolA vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...
that became the
Franklin Institute of BostonThe Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts is one of New England's oldest colleges of engineering and technologies. The college was established with funds bequethed in Benjamin Franklin's will.-History:...
and the whole fund was later dedicated to supporting this institute.
A signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Franklin is considered one of the
Founding FathersThe Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...
of the U.S. His pervasive influence in the early history of the United States has led to his being jocularly called "the only President of the United States who was never President of the United States." Franklin's likeness is ubiquitous. Since 1928, it has adorned American
$100 billsThe United States one hundred-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. U.S. statesman, inventor, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin is currently featured on the obverse of the bill. On the reverse of the banknote is an image of Independence Hall. The time on the clock according to the...
, which are sometimes referred to in slang as "Benjamins" or "Franklins." From 1948 to 1964, Franklin's portrait was on the
half dollarThe "Franklin Half" is a coin of the United States, minted from 1948 to 1963. The coin pictured Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. A small eagle to the right of the bell was necessitated by law; ironically, Franklin himself had opposed the selection of the eagle...
. He has appeared on a
$50 billThe United States fifty-dollar bill is a denomination of United States currency. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant is currently featured on the obverse, while the U.S. Capitol is featured on the reverse...
and on several varieties of the $100 bill from 1914 and 1918. Franklin appears on the $1,000 Series EE Savings bond. The city of Philadelphia contains around 5,000 likenesses of Benjamin Franklin, about half of which are located on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Philadelphia's
Benjamin Franklin ParkwayBenjamin Franklin Parkway is a scenic avenue that runs through the cultural heart of the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Parkway serves as an integral part of the Museum District of Philadelphia....
(a major thoroughfare) and
Benjamin Franklin BridgeThe Benjamin Franklin Bridge , originally named the Delaware River Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey...
(the first major bridge to connect Philadelphia with New Jersey) are named in his honor.
In 1976, as part of a
bicentennialThe United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.-Coins:...
celebration,
CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
dedicated a 20-foot (6 m) marble statue in Philadelphia's Franklin Institute as the
Benjamin Franklin National MemorialBenjamin Franklin National Memorial — located in the rotunda of The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — features a colossal seated statue of Benjamin Franklin. The 20 foot high memorial, sculpted by James Earle Fraser between 1906 and 1911, honors the writer, inventor and American...
. Many of Franklin's personal possessions are also on display at the Institute, one of the few national memorials located on
private propertyProperty is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of persons. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer, exchange or destroy his or her property, and/or to exclude others from...
.
In London, his house at 36 Craven Street was first marked with a
blue plaqueA blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event, serving as a historical marker...
and has since been opened to the public as the Benjamin Franklin House. In 1998, workmen restoring the building dug up the remains of six children and four adults hidden below the home.
The TimesThe Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register....
reported on February 11, 1998:
Initial estimates are that the bones are about 200 years old and were buried at the time Franklin was living in the house, which was his home from 1757 to 1762 and from 1764 to 1775. Most of the bones show signs of having been dissected, sawn or cut. One skull has been drilled with several holes. Paul Knapman, the Westminster Coroner, said yesterday: "I cannot totally discount the possibility of a crime. There is still a possibility that I may have to hold an inquest."
The Friends of Benjamin Franklin House (the organization responsible for the restoration) note that the bones were likely placed there by William Hewson, who lived in the house for two years and who had built a small anatomy school at the back of the house. They note that while Franklin likely knew what Hewson was doing, he probably did not participate in any dissections because he was much more of a physicist than a medical man.
Exhibitions
"The Princess and the Patriot:
Ekaterina DashkovaPrincess Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova-Dashkova was the closest female friend of Empress Catherine the Great and a major figure of the Russian Enlightenment...
, Benjamin Franklin and the Age of Enlightenment" exhibition opened in Philadelphia in February 2006 and ran through December 2006. Benjamin Franklin and Dashkova met only once, in Paris in 1781. Franklin was 75 and Dashkova was 37. Franklin invited Dashkova to become the first woman to join the American Philosophical Society and the only woman to be so honored for another 80 years. Later, Dashkova reciprocated by making him the first American member of the
Russian Academy of SciencesThe Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals.Headquartered in Moscow, the Academy is...
.
Places and things named after Benjamin Franklin
As a founding father of the United States, Franklin's name has been attached to many things. Among these are:
- The State of Franklin
The State of Franklin was an autonomous, secessionist United States territory created, not long after the end of the American Revolution, from territory that later was ceded by North Carolina to the federal government. Franklin's territory later became part of the state of Tennessee...
, a short-lived independent state which formed during the American Revolutionary War.
- Counties
In the United States, a county is a local level of government below the state . Counties are used in 48 of the 50 states, while Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. These are considered "county-equivalents", as are some cities not designated as part of a county. The U.S...
in at least 16 U.S. States
- Several major landmarks in and around Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
, PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
, Franklin's long time home, including:
- Franklin and Marshall College in nearby Lancaster
Lancaster is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351, it is the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Bethlehem, and Scranton...
- Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...
, a footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
field once home to the Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
and the home field of the University of Pennsylvania QuakersThe University of Pennsylvania is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America...
since 1895
- The Benjamin Franklin Bridge
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge , originally named the Delaware River Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey...
across the Delaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.The Delaware was explored by Adriaen Block as part of the New Netherlands Colony, and was named the South River to mark the southernmost reach of that colony....
between Philadelphia and CamdenThe City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
- The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest and premier centers of science education and development in the United States. The Institute itself comprises three centers — The Science Center, The Franklin Center, and The Center for Innovation in Science...
, a science museumA science museum or a science centre is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in museology have broadened the range of...
in Philadelphia, which presents the Benjamin Franklin MedalThe Benjamin Franklin Medal is a science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.-Laureates:*1998 - Emmanuel Desurvire *1998 - Robert B. Laughlin...
- The Sons of Ben
The Sons of Ben is an independent fan club for Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. The group was created in January 2007 by soccer fans from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its greater metropolitan area, using such existing Major League Soccer fan clubs as the Screaming Eagles, La Barra...
soccer fan club
- Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Resources Inc. is a holding company which together with its subsidiaries is referred to as Franklin Templeton Investments; it is an investment firm originally founded in New York in 1947 as Franklin Distributors, Inc. It is listed on the NYSE under the ticker BEN as in Benjamin Franklin,...
an investment firm whose New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...
ticker abbreviation, BEN, is also in honor of Franklin
- The Ben Franklin effect
The Ben Franklin effect is a psychological finding: A person who has done someone a favor is more likely to do that person another favor than they would be if they had received a favor from that person...
from the field of psychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
- Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is a fictional character and lead protagonist in the M*A*S*H novels, film, and television series...
, the fictional character from the M*A*S*H novels, film, and television program
See also
- Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...
- Les Neuf Sœurs
Loge Les Neuf Sœurs , established in Paris in 1776, was a prominent French Masonic Lodge of the Grand Orient de France that was influential in organising French support for the American Revolution. A "Société des Neuf Sœurs," a charitable society that surveyed academic curricula, had been active at...
- Social innovation
Social innovation refers to new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that meet social needs of all kinds - from working conditions and education to community development and health - and that extend and strengthen civil society....
- Thomas Birch's
Thomas Birch was an English historian.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Birch, a coffee-mill maker, and was born at Clerkenwell....
newly discovered Franklin letters
Biographies
- Carl Becker, "Franklin". Short scholarly biography written in 1931, with links to sources.
- H. W. Brands. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (2000) full-length biography
- Walter Isaacson. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Simon & Schuster (2003). ISBN 0-684-80761-0 or ISBN 0-7432-5807-X (paperback); full-length biography.
- Mark Skousen. The Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin (2005) told in Franklin's own words.
- Ralph L. Ketcham, Benjamin Franklin (1966). Short biography.
- Edmund S. Morgan. Benjamin Franklin (2003). Short introduction by leading scholar
- Carl Van Doren. Benjamin Franklin (1938; reprinted 1991). full-length biography.
- Gordon Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin (2005). Interpretive essay by leading scholar
For Young Readers
- Fleming, Candace. Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life. Atheneum/Anne Schwart, 2003, 128 pages, ISBN 978-0-689-83549-0.
Scholarly studies
- Douglas Anderson. The Radical Enlightenments of Benjamin Franklin (1997). BF in terms of intellectual history
- Isaac Asimov. The Kite That Won The Revolution, a biography for children that focuses on Franklin's scientific and diplomatic contributions.
- M. H. Buxbaum., ed. Critical Essays on Benjamin Franklin (1987).
- I. Bernard Cohen
I. Bernard Cohen was the Victor S. Thomas Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and the author of many books on the history of science and, in particular, Isaac Newton. Cohen attended Harvard University, first as a student, taking a Bachelor of Science degree in 1937, and then...
. Benjamin Franklin's Science (1990). One of several books by Cohen on Franklin's science.
- Paul W. Conner. Poor Richard's Politicks (1965). Analyzes BF's ideas in terms of the Enlightenment
- Dray, Philip. Stealing God's Thunder: Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Rod and the Invention of America. Random House, 2005. 279 pp.
- "Franklin as Printer and Publisher" in The Century (April 1899) v. 57 pp. 803–18. By Paul Leicester Ford.
- "Franklin as Scientist" in The Century (Sept 1899) v.57 pp. 750–63. By Paul Leicester Ford.
- "Franklin as Politician and Diplomatist" in The Century (October 1899) v. 57 pp. 881–899. By Paul Leicester Ford.
- Gleason, Philip. "Trouble in the Colonial Melting Pot." Journal of American Ethnic History 2000 20(1): 3–17. ISSN 0278-5927 Fulltext online in Ingenta and Ebsco. Considers the political consequences of the remarks in a 1751 pamphlet by Franklin on demographic growth and its implications for the colonies. He called the Pennsylvania Germans
The Pennsylvania Dutch are the descendants of Germanic peoples who emigrated to the U.S. , from Germany and The Low Countries prior to 1800. The Dutch are generally regarded as one of several Germanic peoples...
"Palatine Boors" who could never acquire the "Complexion" of the English settlers and to "Blacks and Tawneys" as weakening the social structureSocial structure is a term used in sociology and anthropology to refer to relationships or bonds between groups of individuals . Whereas 'structure' refers to "the macro", "agency" refers to "the micro"...
of the colonies. Although Franklin apparently reconsidered shortly thereafter, and the phrases were omitted from all later printings of the pamphlet, his views may have played a role in his political defeat in 1764.
- Monaghan, J. E. (2005). Learning to read and write in colonial America. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
- Olson, Lester C. Benjamin Franklin's Vision of American Community: A Study in Rhetorical Iconology. U. of South Carolina Press, 2004. 323 pp.
- Skousen, W. Cleon. The Five Thousand Year Leap (1981). Brief summary on 28 ideas implemented into the U.S. Constitution by the American Founding Fathers.
- Schiff, Stacy. A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America (2005) (UK title Dr Franklin Goes to France)
- Schiffer, Michael Brian. Draw the Lightning Down: Benjamin Franklin and Electrical Technology in the Age of Enlightenment. U. of California Press, 2003. 383 pp.
- Sethi, Arjun
Arjun Charan Sethi is a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Bhadrak constituency of Orissa and is a member of the Biju Janata Dal political party. He was Union minister of water resources in Atal Bihari Vajpayee government from 2000 to 2004.-External links:*...
The Morality of Values (2006). Online Version
- Stuart Sherman "Franklin" 1918 article on Franklin's writings.
- Michael Sletcher, 'Domesticity: The Human Side of Benjamin Franklin', Magazine of History, XXI (2006).
- Waldstreicher, David. Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution. Hill and Wang, 2004. 315 pp.
- Walters, Kerry S.
Kerry S. Walters is Professor of Philosophy at Gettysburg College and author of numerous books on philosophy and religion.-Career:Walters studied for his BA Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he graduated in 1976...
Benjamin Franklin and His Gods. U. of Illinois Press, 1999. 213 pp. Takes position midway between D. H. Lawrence's brutal 1930 denunciation of Franklin's religion as nothing more than a bourgeois commercialism tricked out in shallow utilitarian moralisms and Owen Aldridge's sympathetic 1967 treatment of the dynamism and protean character of Franklin's "polytheistic" religion.
Primary sources
- Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, & Early Writings (J.A. Leo Lemay, ed.) (Library of America
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published nearly 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to...
, 1987 one-volume, 2005 two-volume) ISBN 978-1-93108222-8
- Autobiography, Poor Richard, & Later Writings (J.A. Leo Lemay, ed.) (Library of America
The Library of America is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature.- Overview and history :Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LoA has published nearly 200 volumes by a wide range of authors from Mark Twain to...
, 1987 one-volume, 2005 two-volume) ISBN 978-1-88301153-6
- Benjamin Franklin Reader edited by Walter Isaacson (2003)
- Houston, Alan, ed. Franklin: The Autobiography and other Writings on Politics, Economics, and Virtue. Cambridge U. Press, 2004. 371 pp.
- Ketcham, Ralph, ed. The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin. (1965, reprinted 2003). 459 pp.
- http://www.yale.edu/franklinpapers/index.html Leonard Labaree, et al., eds., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, 37 vols. to date (1959–2006), definitive edition, through 1783. This massive collection of BF's writings, and letters to him, is available in large academic libraries. It is most useful for detailed research on specific topics. The complete text of all the documents are online and searchable; The Index is also online.
- "The Way to Wealth
"The Way to Wealth" is an essay written by Benjamin Franklin in 1758. It is a collection of adages and advice presented in Poor Richard's Almanac during its first 25 years of publication, organized into a speech given by "Father Abraham" to a group of people. Many of the phrases Father Abraham...
." Applewood Books; November 1986. ISBN 0-918222-88-5
- "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is the traditional name for the unfinished record of his own life written by Benjamin Franklin from 1771 to 1790; however, Franklin himself appears to have called the work his Memoirs...
." Dover Pubns; June 7, 1996. ISBN 0-486-29073-5
- "Poor Richard's Almanack." Peter Pauper Press; November 1983. ISBN 0-88088-918-7
- Poor Richard Improved by Benjamin Franklin (1751)
- "Writings (Franklin)|Writings." ISBN 0-940450-29-1
- "On Marriage."
- "Satires and Bagatelles."
- "A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain
A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain is a philosophical pamphlet by Benjamin Franklin, published in London in 1725.It argues that an omnipotent, benevolent God is incompatible with notions of human free will and morality....
."
- "Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School." Carl Japikse, Ed. Frog Ltd.; Reprint ed. May, 2003. ISBN 1-58394-079-0
- "Heroes of America Benjamin Franklin"
External links
- The Classic Speech of Benjamin Franklin
- Franklin's impact on medicine — talk by medical historian, Dr. Jim Leavesley celebrating the 300th anniversary of Franklin's birth on Okham's Razor ABC Radio National
Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
— December 2006
Biographical and guides
Online writings
Autobiography
In the arts