Person:Benjamin Franklin (3)

     
Benjamin Franklin
m. 25 Nov 1689
  1. John Franklin1690 - 1756
  2. Peter Franklin1692 - 1766
  3. Mary Franklin1694 - 1731
  4. James Franklin1696/97 - 1734/35
  5. Sarah Franklin1699 - 1731
  6. Ebenezer Franklin1701 -
  7. Thomas Franklin1703 -
  8. Benjamin Franklin1705/06 - 1790
  9. Lydia Franklin1708 - 1758
  10. Jane Franklin1712 - 1794
  • HBenjamin Franklin1705/06 - 1790
  1. William Franklin1730 - 1813
  • HBenjamin Franklin1705/06 - 1790
  • WDeborah Read1708 - 1774
m. 1 Sep 1730
  1. Francis Folger Franklin1732 - 1736
  2. Sarah Franklin1743 - 1808
Facts and Events
Name Benjamin Franklin
Gender Male
Birth[2] 6 Jan 1705/06 Boston, Suffolk, MassachusettsOld Style
Alt Birth? 17 Jan 1706 Boston, Suffolk, MassachusettsNew Style
Christening? Boston, Suffolk, MassachusettsOld South Meeting House
Marriage to Unknown
Marriage 1 Sep 1730 Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniato Deborah Read
Death? 17 Apr 1790 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Reference Number? Q34969?


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General.

As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his studies of electricity, and for charting and naming the current still known as the Gulf Stream. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among others. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, and as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."

Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the policies of the British Parliament and the Crown.

He pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769. Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive . His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing French aid.

He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies on August 10, 1753, having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years, and this enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. He initially owned and dealt in slaves but, by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery, became an abolitionist, and promoted education and the integration of African Americans into U.S. society.

His life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and his status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on the $100 bill, warships, and the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, and corporations, as well as numerous cultural references and with a portrait in the Oval Office.


References
  1.   Papers of Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790.
  2. Record Commissioners of Boston. Boston Births from A.D. 1700 to A.D. 1800: Twenty-fourth report of the Commission. (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1894)
    46.
  3.   Last Will and Testament, in National Historical Publications & Records Commission. Founders Online: Correspondence and Other Writings of Six Major Shapers of the United States
    28 Apr 1757.
Signers of U.S. Declaration of Independence
John AdamsSamuel AdamsJosiah BartlettCarter BraxtonCharles CarrollSamuel ChaseAbraham ClarkGeorge ClymerWilliam ElleryWilliam FloydBen FranklinElbridge GerryButton GwinnettLyman HallJohn HancockBenjamin HarrisonJohn HartJoseph HewesThomas HeywardWilliam HooperStephen HopkinsFrancis HopkinsonSamuel HuntingtonThomas JeffersonFrancis Lightfoot LeeRichard Henry LeeFrancis LewisPhilip LivingstonThomas LynchThomas McKeanArthur MiddletonLewis MorrisRobert MorrisJohn MortonThomas Nelson, Jr.William PacaRobert Treat PaineJohn PennGeorge ReadCaesar RodneyGeorge RossBenjamin RushEdward RutledgeRoger ShermanJames SmithRichard StocktonThomas StoneGeorge TaylorMatthew ThorntonGeorge WaltonWilliam WhippleWilliam WilliamsJames WilsonJohn WitherspoonOliver WolcottGeorge Wythe

Signers of the U.S. Constitution
Baldwin • Bassett • Gunning BedfordBlairWilliam Blount • Brearley • Jacob BroomPierce Butler Daniel CarrollGeorge ClymerJonathan DaytonJohn Dickinson • Few • Thomas FitzsimonsBen FranklinNicholas GilmanNathaniel GorhamAlexander Hamilton • Ingersoll • William Jackson Daniel of St.Thomas Jenifer • Johnson • Rufus King • Langdon • William Livingston James Madison • McHenry • Mifflin • Gouverneur Morris Robert MorrisWilliam PatersonCharles Cotesworth PinckneyCharles PinckneyGeorge ReadJohn Rutledge Roger Sherman • Spaight • George WashingtonHugh Williamson James Wilson

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