Franklin, Benjamin

Cultural  

1. A patriot, diplomat, author, printer, scientist, and inventor in the eighteenth century; one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an important early researcher in electricity and proposed the modern model of electrical current (see also current). He also demonstrated that lightning was electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm and allowing it to be struck by lightning. Franklin used this discovery to invent the lightning rod. He produced other inventions as well, such as bifocal eyeglasses and the efficient Franklin stove. Particularly notable among his writings are The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard's Almanack. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and negotiated with France and Britain on behalf of the newly formed government of the United States. Toward the end of his life, he took part in the Constitutional Convention.

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At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Franklin warned his fellow patriots that their venture, if unsuccessful, could lead to their execution for treason: “We must all hang together, or we shall surely all hang separately.”

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Franklin, Benjamin

Jane Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s sister, is a hero of the book, who was possibly in Benjamin Franklin's league, but never got a chance really to read and write that well.

From Salon ● May 25, 2024

William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s only surviving son, remained loyal to Crown and Empire and served as royal governor of New Jersey, a post he secured with his father’s help.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 30, 2014

Franklin, Benjamin: birthplace, 37; allusion, 184; characteristics, 189; Poor Richard, 231; quoted, 236; maxims, 261; fondness for Plutarch, 382; bequest, 407.

From Ralph Waldo Emerson by Holmes, Oliver Wendell

Franklin, Benjamin, autobiography quoted, 131; Everett's gift of autobiography to Boston Public Library, 134; anecdote of, 19; founds Phila.

From The Library and Society Reprints of Papers and Addresses by Bostwick, Arthur Elmore

Franklin, Benjamin, signs memorial for abolition of slavery, 152; denounced by Southerners in Congress, 153.

From James Madison by Gay, Sydney Howard