Benjamin Franklin: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:02, 15 December 2009

January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790. Publisher, inventor and important figure of the Enlightenment as well as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

Publisher and Author

Born as one of 17 siblings, his parents did not have the money to pay for his education. He instead became an autodidact and dedicated reader of everything he could find. Fittingly, his half brother James was a printer and publisher of a newspaper in Boston and took Benjamin as an apprentice when he was twelve years old. At age 17, Franklin left his half brother's business and held several jobs over the following years, first in Philadelphia, then in London. In his twenties, he founded the Library Company, the first library on American soil, and became a prolific author of periodicals (the most famous of these being the annual Poor Richard's Almanack), as well as a newspaper publisher, the latter mainly to have a platform for his political commentary.

Inventions

Besides his career in printing, Franklin was also an inventor who is credited for, among countless other devices, the lightning rod and bifocal glasses. However, he did not get rich from these scientific efforts, as he never patented his inventions due to his altruistic opinion that his ideas belonged to the community.

Politics

Politics were an aspect of Franklin's life that can not be separated from his ventures in the press and science, as he used these fields in an effort to improve life for everyone. He had become interested in public affairs at least since he joined a Freemason lodge in 1731 and founded several important institutions, from the aforementioned library to a firefighting company as well as what would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In his later years, Franklin also held several offices in the state of Philadelphia and became an influential man, culminating in his role in the Declaration of Independence.

Sources

Anderson, Douglas: The radical enlightenments of Benjamin Franklin. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Franklin, Benjamin: Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Ed. J. A. Leo Lemay. New York: Norton, 1986

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 ==Politics==
-Politics were an aspect of Franklin's life that can not be separated from his ventures in the press and science, as he used these fields in an effort to improve life for everyone. He had become interested in public affairs at least since he joined a [[Freemason]] lodge in 1731 and founded several important institutions, from the aforementioned library to a firefighting company as well as what would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In his later years, Franklin also held several offices in the state of Philadelphia and became an influential man, culminating in his role in the [[Declaration of Independence]].
+Politics were an aspect of Franklin's life that can not be separated from his ventures in the press and science, as he used these fields in an effort to improve life for everyone. He had become interested in public affairs at least since he joined a [[Freemason]] lodge in 1731 and founded several important institutions, from the aforementioned library to a firefighting company as well as what would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In his later years, Franklin also held several offices in the state of Philadelphia and became an influential man, culminating in his role in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]].
 ==Sources==