Benjamin franklin 2
Benjamin franklin 2Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706 to Josiah and Abiah-Folger Franklin, who were very religious. His father was a soap and candle maker and didn't make much money. He was the youngest son and the fifteenth child out of seventeen. Benjamin described his father's qualities as "a sound understanding and solid Judgment." He described his mother as "a discreet and virtuous Woman."
Benjamin Franklin was not an formally educated man, but his love of learning gave him much understanding of people, of science and of philosophies. His scientific experiments are stepping stones to the technology we use today.
In 1730 he married Deborah Reed. She was described as a happy person who did not enjoy reading as much as her husband, but was very devoted to him. They had three children; Mary, William and Francis. Francis died as a young child during a small pox epidemic. William became Governor of New Jersey. Mary married a merchant.
In 1718, he became a printer's apprentice for his brother, James, who was the printer of the New England Courant. The brothers didn't have a good relationship. Benjamin thought his brother didn't pay him enough money and James was difficult to get along with.
After four years when he was about 16, he wrote some letters to his brother's paper and signed them Silence Dogood. The letters were funny and sometimes made fun of the Boston authorities and society. His letters became very popular and everyone tried to figure out who Silence Dogood was.
In 1722, James was sent to prison for making statements against the Boston authorities. Benjamin took care of the newspaper while James was in prison. When he was released from prison, he continued the newspaper but put it in Ben's name. About this time, James discovered who Mrs. Silence Dogood was and Benjamin learned about the paper being printed in his name.
Finally, in 1723 Ben decided to leave Boston and traveled to Philadelphia. He soon found work at a newspaper in Philadelphia, but in 1724 he left for England, where he became a master printer. While in London he met with some of the famous English authors. He decided to return to Philadelphia in 1726 and in 1730, he started his own newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette.
He began publishing his Poor Richard's Almanac in 1732. The Almanac covered a lot of different things and was published new each year. It had a calender and yearly weather forecast, so the farmers would know best when to plant crops. It also had funny stories, jokes, and proverbs. Because Mrs. Silence Dogood did so well, he included some of his proverbs under the name Richard Sanders. Even today we hear some of his favorite sayings: Early to bed, early to rise makes a an healthy, wealthy, and wise
Poor Richard's Almanac was very popular in the colonies. Soon it was being translated into different languages. In France it was called Bonhomme...
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