Born January 17, 1706 in Boston, MA
Died April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, PA
Youngest of fifteen children
Boston Latin School but did not graduate. Began educating himself through reading.
1753 Honorary degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Yale
1726 |
Clerk and shopkeeper, Denham's merchant business |
1731 |
Creator, Library Company of Philadelphia |
1736 |
Creator, Union Fire Company (1st volunteer fire company in US) |
1765-1765 |
23rd Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly |
1778-1785 |
United States Minister to France |
1782-1783 |
United States Minister to Sweden |
1785-1788 |
6th President of the Supreme Executive Council of PA |
1730-1790 |
Publisher, The Pennsylvania Gazette |
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin, 21, created the Junto, a group of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community." The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day; it subsequently gave rise to many organizations in Philadelphia.
Franklin received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1753 for his work with electricity and in 1756 he was elected as a Fellow of the Society.
1756, Franklin became a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce. He also joined the influential Birmingham based Lunar Society with whom he regularly corresponded and on occasion, visited in Birmingham in the West Midlands.
1776 |
Assisted in writing the Declaration of Independence |
1791 |
The Autobiography (which was not published until after his death) |
1959 |
The Papers of Benjamin Franklin (38 volumes) |
1970 |
The Writings of Benjamin Franklin |
Printing, Publishing, Learning, Science. Taught himself French, Italian, Spanish and Latin
Stellar example of lifelong learning. Planned an academy for education which went onto become the University of Pennsylvania, Founder of the Junto and the American Philosophical Society. Malcolm Knowles has called the Junto, “the only uniquely adult education institution found in this period that has survived into modern times.”
Photo Gallery
Was apparently quite the womanizer, while his wife, Deborah, seemed to tolerate his indiscretions.
The proposed epitaph on his tombstone was to be :
Here Lies The Body of
B. Franklin
Printer;
Like the Cover of an old Book,
Its Contents torn out,
And stript of its Lettering and Gilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms.
But the Work shall not be whlly lost:
For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more,
In a new & more perfect Edition,
Corrected and Amended
By the Author.
Some view this as inferring a potential belief in reincarnation, as he make come back more perfected and amended. Most consider him a diest, rather than a Christian.
His actual Epitaph left only his name and dates of birth and death.
Moreland, W. D., & Goldenstein, E. H. (1985). Pioneers in adult education. Chicago: Nelson-Hall (SU)(BL).
Wikipedia. (2008). Retrieved July 5, 2008. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Britannica. (2008). Retrieved July 5, 2008. From: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/217331/Benjamin-Franklin#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Benjamin%20Franklin%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia