Background Information on Benjamin Franklin

 1706-1790

Benjamin Franklin had a job as a printer for most of his life. He started this job when he was just a teenager, working in his brother's print shop as an apprentice in Boston. As he progressed in this occupation, he started writing little articles in the newspaper that was published by his brother's print shop. Franklin wrote these articles under the name "Silence Dogood" in which he criticized politics and daily life that occurred in Boston. After turning seventeen, he moved to Philadelphia where he wanted a print shop of his own and that is were his major career started. In 1732, he published Poor Richard's Almanack and it became very popular among the people of Philadelphia. It included information on the sun and moon, the calendar, and the daily weather. Not only that, but it also included little sayings written by Franklin that were also known as aphorisms. This entire almanac was written by Franklin, but he used a different name that was known as Richard Saunders. Over the course of the years, Franklin played a tremendous role in many events and invented many useful things after the decision of wanting to study science. He discovered electricity and developed the lightning rod, as well as a stove. He also created bifocals and was known for several other discoveries. He helped in creating the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and also became involved in the Revolutionary War by trying to get support from France. Near the end of his life in 1771, he started writing The Autobiography that consisted of his life. He only completed four sections before his death, but he is still remembered for his many achievements (The American Experience pg. 140).

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