Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was an American printer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, statesman, author, and one of the most colorful characters of the American Revolution.
Early Life
Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706 to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. He was the 15th and youngest son of Josiah’s seventeen children.
Franklin learned the printing trade while working for the weekly Boston newspaper, New England Courant. The paper was owned by his brother James. When the brothers quarreled over letters young Benjamin published under a pseudonym, he left Boston before his apprenticeship expired. Franklin ran off to Philadelphia.
To London and Back
In Philadelphia, Franklin worked as a printer at several different shops. Encouraged by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, he traveled to London to purchase equipment to start his own newspaper. Unfortunately, this did not work out and Franklin found employment as a typesetter in the Smithfield area of London. A Quaker merchant, Thomas Denham, loaned him the money for passage on a ship back to Philadelphia. In debt to Denham, Franklin worked in his shop until he passed away.
Franklin in Philadelphia
Franklin formally attended school for less than three years, but he read a considerable amount and in 1727 he created the Junto. The Junto was a group of “like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community.” The members of the Junto created a library, which eventually led to the creation of the Library Company. In 1731, Franklin chartered the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Marriage to Deborah Read
In 1730, Franklin married Deborah Read by common-law and adopted his illegitimate son, William. The identity of William’s mother remains unknown. Franklin had two other children with Deborah, Francis, born in 1732, and Sarah, born in 1743.
Business Success and Political Connections
Franklin began saving money and became a successful businessman selling books and publishing the weekly Pennsylvania Gazette. He also clerked for the House of Representatives and promoted civic enterprises, such as the library, that still thrive today. He was on good terms with Lord Thomas Penn and was rewarded with local offices. He aligned himself with Penn’s secret agent, William Smith, in opposition to a large influx of German immigrants from the Rhineland, which seemed to threaten English sovereignty. The Germans had been aided by the Quakers in their move to the colony, and in return, the Germans supported Quaker politicians. Franklin was ambivalent toward the Quakers, who were pacifists. Although he respected their toleration, he hated their pacifism. During King George’s War (1744–1748), he organized an extralegal military association that helped him gain popular support, to the dismay of Penn, who feared popular leaders.
Franklin Gains Fame with the Kite Experiment
Franklin’s most famous scientific experiment is likely that of flying a kite in a thunderstorm with a key attached to a piece of twine. The purpose of the experiment was to prove that lightning is a form of electricity. He published the proposal for the experiment in 1750, although there is some debate as to whether or not he actually conducted the experiment himself, due to the danger of electrocution. His experiments and research into electricity, a new science at the time, led the London Royal Society to award him the Copley Gold Medal. As a result, his name became well known both in America and abroad.
Deputy Postmaster and Pennsylvania Assembly
Franklin was appointed as deputy postmaster of the colonies in 1753 and served in that capacity until 1774. During his tenure, he made the post offices profitable and essentially franchised several printers by supplying them with equipment on a profit-sharing basis. In 1751 he was elected to the Assembly, where he had to cooperate with the dominant Quakers. In 1755 he persuaded German farmers to rent their heavy wagons to Major General Edward Braddock for his doomed campaign against the French and Fort Duquesne.
Albany Congress and Plan of Union
In 1754, the French and Indian War, pitting Great Britain against France and its allies from the Native Tribes, loomed on the horizon. Sensing the benefit of creating an alliance with the powerful Iroquois Confederation, British officials called for a conference between the American colonies and Iroquois leaders in Albany, New York. Franklin was selected as a delegate from Pennsylvania for the Albany Congress.
The most significant part of the conference was the development of the Albany Plan of Union, which Franklin proposed. The plan outlines a permanent federation of the colonies, as a means to reform colonial-imperial relations and to more effectively address shared colonial interests. The plan was introduced on June 19, and the commissioners adopted a final version on July 10.
Despite the support of those who attended the Albany Congress, the Albany Plan of Union was rejected by King George II and by all of the individual colonial governments that considered its adoption. The Congress and the plan were significant milestones, however, as they marked the first official attempts to develop inter-colonial cooperation among the American colonies.
Franklin Organizes and Leads Pennsylvania Militia
During the French and Indian War (1754–1763), Franklin served in the Pennsylvania Assembly. He helped to organize a legal militia and was chosen as its commanding colonel. He used Tun Tavern in Philadelphia as a recruiting station. The Pennsylvania Militia was organized as Pennsylvania’s 103rd Artillery and 11th Infantry Regiment at the Continental Army. He set up a ring of garrisoned forts for defense against Indian raids and eventually learned that the Indians were upset over being cheated out of their lands by Lord Thomas Penn. This led to Franklin eventually turning against the Quakers.
Franklin Opposes the Stamp Act
In 1764, Franklin found himself embroiled in disputes between members of the Pennsylvania Assembly and the heirs of William Penn. He was dispatched to London where in 1765 he was on hand to voice American opposition to the Stamp Act. His testimony to the House of Commons helped lead to its repeal and he emerged as a leading voice for American interests in England.
Franklin Leaks Massachusetts Letters
For several years, Franklin traveled throughout Europe, where his popularity continued to grow due to his eccentric personality. Yet while in England he grew weary of corruption and was able to obtain the private letters of Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson and lieutenant governor, Andrew Oliver. These letters made it clear that they were encouraging the British to come down hard on the rights of the citizens of Boston. He left London in March 1775.
Second Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence
Upon arriving in America, he became a leading figure in the Second Continental Congress, which led to the Declaration of Independence. He served on the Committee of Five, which was tasked with drafting a document that would proclaim to the world the reasons for removing the colonies from the British Empire. The other members were John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman. Jefferson produced a draft that was reviewed by Adams and Franklin, who recommended minor changes. The document was presented to Congress on Friday, June 28, 1776. At the signing, he supposedly said “Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Peace Negotiations
In December of 1776, Franklin was sent to France to serve as an ambassador of the United States, in an effort to gain aid from the French in the Revolutionary War. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which brought peace with Great Britain. He returned to the United States in 1785.
Governor of Pennsylvania
On October 18, 1785, he was elected the sixth President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, a role that is equivalent to Governor. He replaced fellow Founding Father John Dickinson. He was re-elected to a full term on October 29, 1785, then again in the Fall of 1786 and 1787.
Constitutional Convention of 1787
In 1787 he served as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention which resulted in the United States Constitution. Franklin signed the Constitution, becoming the only Founding Father to have signed the four major documents that helped to found and establish the nation. The other documents were the Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris, and Treaty of Alliance with France.
Supporter of Abolition
In his later years, Franklin wrote several essays concerning the abolition of slavery. Those essays were, An Address to the Public, published in 1789, A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks, also in 1789, and Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim on the Slave Trade in 1790.
Death
On April 17, 1790, Franklin passed away. His body was laid to rest at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia.
Significance
Benjamin Franklin is important because he helped write the Declaration of Independence, was involved in negotiating the Treaty of Alliance with France, helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris with Britain that ended the American Revolutionary War, participated in the Constitutional Convention, and signed the United States Constitution. Very few Americans participated in so many key moments in American history and the founding of the nation.
Founding Father
Benjamin Franklin is considered a Founding Father for all of his dedication to the cause of American liberty and freedom. He represented American interests in Europe during the Stamp Act Crisis and after the War for Independence. During the war, he played a vital role in helping shape the direction of the Second Continental Congress, which culminated in the Declaration of Independence. It is quite possible that no other American played as important a role in the political formation of the United States of America as Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin — Quick Facts
- Born January 17, 1706, Boston, Massachusetts.
- Attended Boston Latin School from 1714 to 1716.
- Began working as a printer apprenticed to his brother from 1718 to 1723.
- Moved o Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1724.
- Bought the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729.
- Began publishing Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1733.
- Helped launch the American Philosophical Society in 1743.
- Conducted experiments and verified the nature of electricity during the 1750s.
- Credited with inventing the Franklin Stove, bifocal glasses, and the lightning rod.
- Was instrumental in establishing a library, hospital, fire company, and an insurance company in the City of Philadelphia.
- Moved to London and represented the interests of Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts before Parliament from 1757 to 1775.
- Elected to the Second Continental Congress and worked on a committee of five that helped to draft the Declaration of Independence.
- Signed Declaration of Independence in 1776.
- Served as the American Ambassador to France during the American Revolution and during the Confederation Era.
- Signed the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, in 1783.
- Served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and signed the U.S. Constitution.
- Died April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Buried at Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Benjamin Franklin Quotes from “Poor Richard’s Almanack”
“God heals, and the doctor takes the fees.”
“God helps them that help themselves.”
“Work as if you were to live 100 years; pray as if you were to die tomorrow.”
“Keep your eyes open before marriage, half shut afterwards.”
“My father convinced me that nothing was useful which was not honest.”
“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.”
“Virtue alone is sufficient to make a man great, glorious and happy.”
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”