Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 17th of January, 1706. He was the fifteenth child of a poor tallow-chandler, and received but a limited education. At the age of ten he was taken from school and put to work in his father's shop. Disliking the business, he was apprenticed to his brother, a printer, and thus acquired a knowledge of the art which was of great service to him in after life.

He early displayed a fondness for reading and study, and devoted all his leisure time to the improvement of his mind. He wrote essays and articles for his brother's paper, and soon became known as a writer of ability. A quarrel with his brother caused him to leave Boston, and he went to Philadelphia, where he obtained employment as a printer.

He visited England, and spent some time in London, working at his trade. Returning to Philadelphia, he established a printing-house and newspaper, and soon became one of the most prosperous and influential men in the city. He founded the first public library in America, and was active in promoting the cause of education and science.

He devoted much attention to the study of electricity, and made a number of important discoveries. His experiments attracted the attention of the scientific world, and he was elected a member of the Royal Society of London. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Oxford, and was honored by other learned bodies.

He took an active part in public affairs, and was sent to England as the agent of Pennsylvania. He remained there several years, and rendered important services to the colonies. Returning to America, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence.

He was afterward sent as minister to France, and by his wisdom and tact secured the alliance of that country with the United States. He remained in France until the close of the war, and was one of the commissioners who negotiated the treaty of peace with Great Britain.

Returning to America, he was elected President of Pennsylvania, and was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States. He died in Philadelphia on the 17th of April, 1790, in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

Source:
McCabe, James D. The Centennial Book of American Biography. Philadelphia and Chicago: P. W. Ziegler & Co., 1876. Patriot Echoes Archive