Benjamin Franklin Poems

Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790 was one of the most important Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading author, political theorist, politician, printer, scientist, inventor, civic activist, and diplomat. As a scientist he was a major figure in the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As a political writer and activist he, more than anyone, invented the idea of an American nation,[1] and as a diplomat during the American Revolution, he secured the French alliance that helped to make independence possible. Franklin was famous for his curiosity, his writings (popular, political and scientific), his inventions, and his diversity of interests. As a leader of the Enlightenment, he gained the recognition of scientists and intellectuals across Europe. An agent in London before the Revolution, and Minister to France during the war, he, more than anyone else, defined the new nation in the minds of Europe. His success in securing French military and financial aid was a great contributor to the American victory over Britain. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the iron furnace stove (also known as the Franklin stove), a carriage odometer and a musical instrument known as the armonica. He was an early proponent of colonial unity. Many historians hail him as the "First American." Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin learned printing from his older brother and became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia, becoming very wealthy. In 1718, at the age of 12, Benjamin Franklin began in apprentice service to his half-brother, James, in the printing business and continued until he was twenty-one. In the printing business, he improved in spelling and punctuation. In his autobiography, he accounts that he schooled himself in composition because it was not taught in reading or writing schools at that time. Here he provides another piece of documentation that writing was defined as penmanship. Franklin attributed his improvement in composition to writing down his arguments for friendly debates and his father’s suggestions to style, organization and insightfulness.


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