Benjamin Franklin
By Justus Miller
Introduction
You probably all know who Benjamin Franklin is, but I bet there is a lot of stuff you don't know about him. Benjamin led a very adventurous life. Ben apprenticed at his brother's printing shop when he was young. While he was an apprentice there, Ben also wrote some crazy letters for the paper. Ben was also a very famous inventor. Some of his inventions were not very good, but some of them are still used today.
Early Life
Ben had an adventures early life. One early morning on January 17,1706 Abiah Franklin gave birth to Benjamin Franklin. Ben at the age of 6 years old moved in with in with his uncle Thomas and Aunts Lydia, Jane, and Shara. Ben's new house was 3 times the size of the house on Milk Street that he moved out of. By the age of 14 Ben was working with his brother James Franklin at the press as a printers apprentice . A few years later Ben woke up one early morning and crept out of his house and onto a ship heading to New York City. When he got there he found out nobody in New York City was looking for a printer's apprentice. During his search somebody had mentioned that they were hiring people in Philadelphia. After hearing this he jumped onto the next ship heading to Philadelphia where he found a new job. Philadelphia is where Ben would call home for the rest of his life.
Mrs. Silence Dogood
You're most likely wondering why Mrs. Silence Dogood was part of Ben's life or even how she is important to Ben. When Ben was an apprentice at his brothers printing press, where the New England Courant was printed, a batch of letters signed by Mrs. Silence Dogood was submitted for print. The New England Courant was similar to the newspaper we get at our house every single day. The letters that were printed in the Courant were humorous and everyone wondered who Mrs. Dogood was. It turned out that it was Ben writing the letters. Ben's brother wouldn't print the letters if Ben wrote them, so he decided to sign the letters with a made up name and secretly submit them for print. Ben's secret eventually got out and his brother and many of the townspeople were very angry over it. Ben's brother even got physical with him. This led to Ben sneaking off to New York City.
Inventions
Ben made a lot of inventions some became obsolete and some we still use till this very day. One of Ben's earliest and most famous inventions were bifocals. He created them in 1784. They were like two pair of glasses in one. The upper half was for looking at long distances and the bottom half was for looking at short distances. Another one of Ben's inventions was the long arm. The long arm is a wood pole with a claw that can grab a book from a high shelf. He created the long arm in 1786. He also created the lightning rod in 1753. The lightning rod is a metal rod that goes over your house and sticks into the ground. If your house get's struck by lightning it will instead hit the lightning rod and most of the harmful electric will get routed to the ground. One of my favorite inventions of Ben's was his glass harmonica in 1762. The glass harmonica makes beautiful with water in a glass. Ben also created the odometer in 1763. This device could tell you how far that you had traveled. These are some of many of Benjamin Franklin's inventions.
Conclusion
This may have gave you a look at some parts of Ben Franklin's life that you maybe did not know about. Working at a printing press and writing the Mrs. Silence Dogood letters showed Ben's sense of humor and intelligence. This led to adventures in his early life like running off to New York City and eventually Philadelphia. His many inventions like the odometer, lightning rod, glass armonica, long arm and bifocals are still being used today. If not for Ben's many contributions America may not be the same place it is today.
Glossary
Glass harmonica- A musical instrument consisting of a series of rotating glass bowls of differing size played by touching the damped edges with a finger.
Apprentice- A person who learns a job or skill by working for a fixed period of time for someone who is very good at that job or skill.
Obsolete- No longer used because something newer exists.
Sources
Books:
Benjamin Franklins Almanac
Benjamin Franklin
Poor Richards Almanac
Online:
Sirs Discover
U.S History
Prezi.com