Ben Franklin
By: Sean Wagaman
Early life
Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston. When Ben was 15 his brother started the first newspaper in Boston "The New England Courant". Ben wanted to write in the paper, but he knew his brother James wouldn't let him. Ben created a fake name Silence Dogood and started writing letters for the newspapers under that name. Ben was caught and his brother became jealous of all of Bens attention. Ben ran away from Boston to Philadelphia in 1723 because when his brother was released from jail, he didn't appreciate Ben continuing the newspaper without him. In Philadelphia he met his future wife Deborah Read.
Accomplishments
Franklin is famous for his accomplishments in science, inventing, writing, and played a role in government. One of his biggest literature success's was the "Poor Richard's Almanack". He was also a founding father of the United States and help with the writing of the Declaration of Independence. He helped get the French on the side of the colonists during the Revolutinary War and negotiated the Treaty of Paris in 1783 to end the war. Some of his inventions were the bifocals, elecricity, the stove, and the mapping of the Gulf Stream.
Death
Ben Franklin died on April 17, 1790 in his home in Philadelphia. Franklin was married to Deborah Read and they had two sons, William and Franklin, and a daughter Sarah. Ben Franklin had many contributions and inventions that are still used all around the world today.
Interesting facts
Ben Franklin was born into a very large family with 17 kids. He began to apprentice his brother in a print shop at 12. Ben Franklin was also a volunteer firemen because he liked giving back to the community and wrote about fire safety. Ben Franklin could speak 5 different languages in english, french, latin, italian, and Spanish. Franklin created the first insurance company in the colonies for safety from fire. At Ben Franklin's funeral 20,000 people attended.