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Benjamin Franklin Biography
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Biography: Life of Benjamin Franklin
Born 1706, Died 1790
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. Although Ben Franklin only attended school for two years, he was a great American diplomat, inventor, philosopher and public servant.
After working for a time in his father’s candle shop, Ben Franklin went to work as an apprentice printer. In 1723 Franklin moved to Philadelphia where in 1728 he opened a print shop and published The Pennsylvania Gazette.
In 1730 Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read. They had three children.
Ben Franklin worked as a printer from 1730 to 1748. His famous publication, Poor Richard’s Almanack, was first published in 1732. During this period, Franklin organized the American Philosophical Society, worked to have the streets of Philadelphia paved, formed its first volunteer fire company, helped to organize the first hospital in the colonies and brought about practical changes in public education. Franklin also served as clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly and deputy postmaster of Philadelphia.
An active inventor and scientist, Ben Franklin invented the Franklin stove and conducted experiments with electricity. His experiments with lightning and a kite with a key attached to the string resulted in the invention of the lightning rod.
In 1753 Benjamin Franklin was appointed deputy postmaster general of the American colonies by the British government. His innovations made the postal system profitable.
Ben Franklin was first sent to London in 1757 by the Pennsylvania Assembly to persuade the ancestors of William Penn to help pay the expenses of the French and Indian War. His efforts resulted in the passage of a bill which taxed the Penn family. The Pennsylvania Assembly, which believed that Pennsylvania should be governed by the king rather than the Penn family, sent Franklin back to England in 1764 to petition King George III.
In 1765 British Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a direct tax on the American colonists. Ben Franklin appeared before Parliament and successfully persuaded them to repeal the Stamp Act. Franklin spent the next ten years in England lobbying for the rights of the colonists. His advice however fell on deaf ears and rebellion broke out.
In 1775 Benjamin Franklin returned to Philadelphia and offered his services to the revolution. He was appointed Postmaster General and was a member of the Second Continental Congress. Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence and later the Articles of Confederation.
Benjamin Franklin was sent to France in 1776 and successfully won the support of the French in the Revolutionary War. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1778. He remained in France representing America.
In 1781 Benjamin Franklin helped to negotiate peace with England and signed the peace treaty.
Benjamin Franklin returned to America in 1785 and became president of the Pennsylvania Assembly. Franklin was also a member of the Constitutional Convention.
Ben Franklin spent his final days living with his daughter in Philadelphia. He died on April 17, 1790.
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