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Was Ben Franklin born in Boston Massachusetts?
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on 6 January 1706, the son of Josiah and Abiah Franklin.
What street was Ben Franklin born on?
17 Milk StreetBenjamin Franklin was born on Sunday, January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, which was then a British colony. His birthplace is at 17 Milk Street.
When and where was Ben Franklin born?
January 17, 1706, Milk Street, Boston, MABenjamin Franklin / Born
Did Ben Franklin grow up in Boston?
Summary. Benjamin Franklin was born in a small house on Milk Street in Boston, next to the Old South Church, on January 6, 1706. He was the youngest son of five generations of youngest sons.
Why is Benjamin Franklin on the $100?
Franklin played a key role in building the nation. He was the most important founding father, he was the oldest and the one who had contributed the most to the cause of independence.
How many slaves did Ben Franklin have?
Franklin owned at leas two slaves during his life, both of whom worked as household servants, but in his old age he came to view slavery as a vile institution that ran counter to the principles of the American Revolution.
Why did Ben Franklin leave Boston?
To Philadelphia In 1723 at age 17, Benjamin took advantage of this clause and decided to leave his abusive brother and go to New York in search of work. He left Boston to New York with very little money in his pocket.
Is Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill?
The $100 note features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the front of the note. The vignette on the back of the note changed in 1929 to feature Independence Hall.
Did Ben Franklin leave money to Boston?
In his will, Benjamin Franklin left $2,000 to the city of Philadelphia and $2,000 to the city of Boston with the direction that it could not be drawn on for 100 years and could not be distributed for 200 years.
Are there any living relatives of Benjamin Franklin?
"We found out about wonderful Franklin artifacts that are in families that we didn't even know about," she says. She also was able to update her genealogical data base, which now lists 3,380 descendants, 300 of them added during the weekend. She estimates that at least 2,000 descendants are alive today.
Where did Benjamin Franklin live?
Paris1778–1785Philadelphia1724–1777Boston1706–1723Benjamin Franklin/Places lived
How much money did Benjamin Franklin have?
Benjamin Franklin According to the Times article, the Boston account had a balance of $4.5 million and there was $2 million in the Philadelphia account at the time of publication.
Is Benjamin Franklin on the $100 bill?
The $100 note features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the front of the note. The vignette on the back of the note changed in 1929 to feature Independence Hall.
Where did Benjamin Franklin live in Philadelphia?
Franklin CourtFranklin Court was the site of the handsome brick home of Benjamin Franklin, who lived here while serving in the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention.
What are 3 things Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
Benjamin Franklin's InventionsLightning Rod.Bifocals.Franklin Stove.Armonica.
How many illegitimate children did Ben Franklin have?
Benjamin Franklin only has one recorded illegitimate child. Prior to his common law marriage to Deborah Reed in September 1730, Benjamin Franklin acknowledged William Franklin as his illegitimate child (born out of wedlock).
Where was Benjamin Franklin born?
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston . His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second wife. Franklin was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspring.
Who was Benjamin Franklin's father?
His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second wife. Franklin was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspring.
What did Benjamin Franklin do in Philadelphia?
Starting in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of community organizations in Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a time when books weren’t widely available in the colonies, and remained the largest U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire company, a police patrol and the American Philosophical Society, a group devoted to the sciences and other scholarly pursuits. Franklin also organized the Pennsylvania militia, raised funds to build a city hospital and spearheaded a program to pave and light city streets. Additionally, Franklin was instrumental in the creation of the Academy of Philadelphia, a college which opened in 1751 and became known as the University of Pennsylvania in 1791.
How old was Benjamin Franklin when he was elected to the Constitutional Convention?
In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document.
What was Franklin's business?
The business became highly successful producing a range of materials, including government pamphlets, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner and publisher of a colonial newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular–and to which he contributed much of the content, often using pseudonyms.
Why did Franklin send the French to France?
That same year, Congress sent Franklin to France to enlist that nation’s help with the Revolutionary War. In February 1778, the French signed a military alliance with America and went on to provide soldiers, supplies and money that proved critical to America’s victory in the war.
How old was Benjamin Franklin when he started his printing business?
Benjamin Franklin's Inventions. In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, had expanded his printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough to stop working. Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public service and also pursue more fully his longtime interest in science.
How old was William Franklin when he was born?
See also: William Franklin. William Franklin. In 1730, 24-year-old Franklin publicly acknowledged the existence of his son William, who was deemed "illegitimate," as he was born out of wedlock, and raised him in his household. William was born February 22, 1730, and his mother's identity is still unknown.
Who was Benjamin Franklin?
January 6, 1706] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the first United States Postmaster General. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia 's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical 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 historian Henry Steele Commager, "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."
What did Benjamin Franklin do after Denham died?
Upon Denham's death, Franklin returned to his former trade. In 1728, Franklin had set up a printing house in partnership with Hugh Meredith; the following year he became the publisher of a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette. 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, and his adroit cultivation of a positive image as an industrious and intellectual young man, earned him a great deal of social respect. But even after Franklin had achieved fame as a scientist and statesman, he habitually signed his letters with the unpretentious 'B. Franklin, Printer.'
How did Benjamin Franklin prove lightning is electricity?
Franklin published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning is electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm. On May 10, 1752, Thomas-François Dalibard of France conducted Franklin's experiment using a 40-foot-tall (12 m) iron rod instead of a kite, and he extracted electrical sparks from a cloud. On June 15, 1752, Franklin may possibly have conducted his well-known kite experiment in Philadelphia, successfully extracting sparks from a cloud. Franklin described the experiment in the Pennsylvania Gazette on October 19, 1752, without mentioning that he himself had performed it. This account was read to the Royal Society on December 21 and printed as such in the Philosophical Transactions. Joseph Priestley published an account with additional details in his 1767 History and Present Status of Electricity. Franklin was careful to stand on an insulator, keeping dry under a roof to avoid the danger of electric shock. Others, such as Prof. Georg Wilhelm Richmann in Russia, were indeed electrocuted in performing lightning experiments during the months immediately following Franklin's experiment.
Why did Benjamin Franklin become vegetarian?
His reasons for vegetarianism were based on health, ethics, and economy:
How many children did Josiah Franklin have?
Following her death, Josiah was married to Abiah Folger on July 9, 1689, in the Old South Meeting House by Reverend Samuel Willard, and would eventually have ten children with her. Benjamin, their eighth child, was Josiah Franklin's fifteenth child overall, and his tenth and final son.
What was Franklin's ethos?
Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical 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.
Benjamin Franklin’s Early Years
Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Publisher
- Benjamin Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726, and two years later opened a printing shop. The business became highly successful producing a range of materials, including government pamphlets, books and currency. In 1729, Franklin became the owner and publisher of a colonial newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, which proved popular—and to which he contributed muc…
Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia
- As Franklin’s printing business prospered, he became increasingly involved in civic affairs. Starting in the 1730s, he helped establish a number of community organizations in Philadelphia, including a lending library (it was founded in 1731, a time when books weren’t widely available in the colonies, and remained the largest U.S. public library until the 1850s), the city’s first fire com…
Benjamin Franklin's Inventions
- In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, had expanded his printing business throughout the colonies and become successful enough to stop working. Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public service and also pursue more fully his longtime interest in science. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to the understanding of electricity, and invented the lightning rod, w…
Benjamin Franklin and The American Revolution
- In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Articles of Confederation, which became the first constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781. In 1757, Franklin traveled to London as a representative …
Benjamin Franklin’s Later Years
- In 1785, Franklin left France and returned once again to Philadelphia. In 1787, he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. (The 81-year-old Franklin was the convention’s oldest delegate.) At the end of the convention, in September 1787, he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document. The U.S. Constitution was ratifie…