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Benjamin Franklin From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses of Benjamin Franklin, Ben Franklin and Franklin, see Benjamin Franklin (disambiguation) andFranklin (disambiguation). Benjamin Franklin 6th President of Pennsylvania In office October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788 Vice President Charles Biddle Thomas Mifflin Preceded by John Dickinson Succeeded by Thomas Mifflin United States Minister to France In office September 14, 1778 – May 17, 1785 Serving with Arthur Lee, Silas Deane, and John Adams Appointed by Continental Congress Preceded by New office Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson United States Minister to Sweden In office September 28, 1782 – April 3, 1783 Appointed by Congress of the Confederation Preceded by New office Succeeded by Jonathan Russell 1st United States Postmaster General In office July 26, 1775 – November 7, 1776 Appointed by Continental Congress Preceded by New office Succeeded by Richard Bache Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly In office May 1764 – October 1764 Preceded by Isaac Norris Succeeded by Isaac Norris Member of the Pennsylvania Assembly In office 1762–1764 In office 1751–1757 Personal details Born January 17, 1706 Boston, Massachusetts Bay Died April 17, 1790 (aged 84) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Nationality American Political party Independent Spouse(s) Deborah Read Children William Franklin Francis Folger Franklin Sarah Franklin Bache Profession Printer-Publisher Writer Politician Scientist Signature Benjamin Franklin(January 17, 1706[O.S. January 6, 1705][Note 1] – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and in many ways was the First American.[1] A world-renownedpolymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer,political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in theAmerican Enlightenment and the history of physicsfor his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for thelightning rod,bifocals, and theFranklin stove, among other inventions.[2] He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphias fire department and a university. Franklin earned the title of The First American for his early and indefatigable campaigning forcolonial unity; as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies, then as the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.[3] 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 theEnlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat.[4]To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become.[5] Franklin, always proud of his working class roots, became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies.[6] With two partners he published thePennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British policies. He became wealthy publishing Poor Richards Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin was also the printer of books for the Moravians of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (1742 on). Franklins printed Moravian books (printed in German) are preserved, and can be viewed, at the Moravian Archives located in Bethlehem. Franklin visited Bethlehem many times and stayed at the Moravian Sun Inn. He played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society. Franklin became a national hero in America when as agent for several colonies he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament in London 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 Franco-American relations. His efforts to secure support for the American Revolution by shipments of crucial munitions proved vital for the American war effort. For many years he was the British postmaster for the colonies, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He was active in community affairs, colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as governor of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he freed his own slaves and became one of the most prominent abolitionists. His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of Americas most influential Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored on coinage and the $100 bill;warships, the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies, and, more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references. Contents [hide] • 1 Early life • 2 Philadelphia o 2.1 Junto and library o 2.2 Newspaperman o 2.3 Freemason o 2.4 Common-law marriage to Deborah Read o 2.5 Illegitimate son William o 2.6 Success as an author • 3 Inventions and scientific inquiries o 3.1 Population studies o 3.2 Atlantic Ocean currents o 3.3 Electricity o 3.4 Wave theory of light o 3.5 Meteorology o 3.6 Traction kiting o 3.7 Concept of cooling o 3.8 Temperatures effect on electrical conductivity o 3.9 Oceanography findings o 3.10 Decision-making • 4 Musical endeavors • 5 Chess • 6 Public life o 6.1 Years in Europe o 6.2 Hutchinson letters o 6.3 Coming of revolution o 6.4 Declaration of Independence o 6.5 Postmaster o 6.6 Ambassador to France: 1776–1785 o 6.7 Constitutional Convention o 6.8 President of Pennsylvania • 7 Virtue, religion, and personal beliefs o 7.1 Thirteen Virtues • 8 Slaves and slavery • 9 Death and legacy o 9.1 Bequest o 9.2 Franklin on U.S. postage o 9.3 Bawdy Ben o 9.4 Exhibitions o 9.5 Places and things named after Benjamin Franklin • 10 Ancestry • 11 See also • 12 Notes • 13 References • 14 Further reading o 14.1 Biographies o 14.2 Scholarly studies o 14.3 Primary sources • 15 External links Early life Franklins birthplace onMilk Street, Boston, Massachusetts Franklins birthplace site directly across from Old South Meeting House on Milk Streetis commemorated by a bustabove the second floor facade of this building Benjamin Franklin was born onMilk Street, in Boston,Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706,[Note 1][Note 2] and baptizedat Old South Meeting House. He was one of ten children born toJosiah Franklin with his second wife Abiah Folger. Among Benjamins siblings were his older brother James and his younger sister Jane. Josiah wanted Ben to attend school with the clergy, but only had enough money to send him to school for two years. He attendedBoston Latin School but did not graduate; he continued his education through voracious reading. Although his parents talked of the church as a career[7] for Franklin, his schooling ended when he was ten. He worked for his father for a time, and at 12 he became anapprentice to his brother James, a printer, who taught Ben theprinting trade. When Ben was 15, James founded The New-England Courant, which was the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies. When denied the chance to write a letter to the paper for publication, Franklin adopted the pseudonym of Mrs. Silence Dogood, a middle-aged widow. Mrs. Dogoods letters were published, and became a subject of conversation around town. Neither James nor the Courants readers were aware of the ruse, and James was unhappy with Ben when he discovered the popular correspondent was his younger brother. Franklin left his apprenticeship without permission, and in so doing became a fugitive.[8] Philadelphia At age 17, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, seeking a new start in a new city. When he first arrived, he worked in several printer shops around town, but he was not satisfied by the immediate prospects. After a few months, while working in a printing house, Franklin was convinced by Pennsylvania GovernorSir William Keith to go to London, ostensibly to acquire the equipment necessary for establishing another newspaper in Philadelphia. Finding Keiths promises of backing a newspaper empty, Franklin worked as a typesetter in a printers shop in what is now the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great in the Smithfieldarea of London. Following this, he returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of Thomas Denham, a merchant who employed Franklin as clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in his business.[8] Junto and library In 1727, Benjamin Franklin, then 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. Reading was a great pastime of the Junto, but books were rare and expensive. The members created a library, initially assembled from their own books. This did not suffice, however. Franklin conceived the idea of a subscription library, which would pool the funds of the members to buy books for all to read. This was the birth of the Library Company of Philadelphia: its charter was composed by Franklin in 1731. In 1732, Franklin hired the first American librarian, Louis Timothee. Originally, the books were kept in the homes of the first librarians, but in 1739 the collection was moved to the second floor of the State House of Pennsylvania, now known as Independence Hall. In 1791, a new building was built specifically for the library. The Library Company is now a great scholarly and research librarywith 500,000 rare books, pamphlets, and broadsides, more than 160,000 manuscripts, and 75,000 graphic items. Benjamin Franklin (center) at work on a printing press. Reproduction of a Charles Mills painting by the Detroit Publishing Company. Newspaperman Upon Denhams death, Franklin returned to his former trade. In 1728, Franklin had set up a printing house in partnership with Hugh Meredith; the following year he became the publisher of a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette. The Gazette gave Franklin a forum for agitation about a variety of local reforms and initiatives through printed essays and observations. Over time, his commentary, and his adroit cultivation of a positive image as an industrious and intellectual young man, earned him a great deal of social respect. But even after Franklin had achieved fame as a scientist and statesman, he habitually signed his letters with the unpretentious B. Franklin, Printer.[8] In 1732, Ben Franklin published the first German languagenewspaper in America – the Philadelphische Zeitung – although it failed after only one year, because four other newly founded German papers quickly dominated the newspaper market.[9] Franklin saw the printing press as a device to instruct colonial Americans in moral virtue. Frasca argues he saw this as a service to God, because he understood moral virtue in terms of actions, thus, doing good provides a service to God. Despite his own moral lapses, Franklin saw himself as uniquely qualified to instruct Americans in morality. He tried to influence American moral life through construction of a printing network based on a chain of partnerships from the Carolinas to New England. Franklin thereby invented the first newspaper chain. It was more than a business venture, for like many publishers since, he believed that the press had a public-service duty.[10] When Franklin established himself in Philadelphia, shortly before 1730, the town boasted two wretched little news sheets, Andrew Bradfords American Mercury, and Keimers Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences, and Pennsylvania Gazette. This instruction in all arts and sciences consisted of weekly extracts fromChamberss Universal Dictionary. Franklin quickly did away with all this when he took over the Instructor and made it The Pennsylvania Gazette. The Gazette soon became Franklins characteristic organ, which he freely used for satire, for the play of his wit, even for sheer excess of mischief or of fun. From the first he had a way of adapting his models to his own uses. The series of essays called The Busy-Body, which he wrote for BradfordsAmerican Mercury in 1729, followed the general Addisonian form, already modified to suit homelier conditions. The thrifty Patience, in her busy little shop, complaining of the useless visitors who waste her valuable time, is related to the ladies who address Mr. Spectator. The Busy-Body himself is a true Censor Morum, asIsaac Bickerstaff had been in the Tatler. And a number of the fictitious characters, Ridentius, Eugenius, Cato, and Cretico, represent traditional 18th-century classicism. Even this Franklin could use for contemporary satire, since Cretico, the sowre Philosopher, is evidently a portrait of Franklins rival, Samuel Keimer. As time went on, Franklin depended less on his literary conventions, and more on his own native humor. In this there is a new spirit—not suggested to him by the fine breeding of Addison, or the bitter irony of Swift, or the stinging completeness of Pope. The brilliant little pieces Franklin wrote for his Pennsylvania Gazette have an imperishable place in American literature. The Pennsylvania Gazette, like most other newspapers of the period, was often poorly printed. Franklin was busy with a hundred matters outside of his printing office, and never seriously attempted to raise the mechanical standards of his trade. Nor did he ever properly edit or collate the chance medley of stale items that passed for news in the Gazette. His influence on the practical side of journalism was minimal. On the other hand, his advertisements of books show his very great interest in popularizing secular literature. Undoubtedly his paper contributed to the broader culture that distinguished Pennsylvania from her neighbors before the Revolution. Like many publishers, Franklin built up a book shop in his printing office; he took the opportunity to read new books before selling them. Franklin had mixed success in his plan to establish an inter-colonial network of newspapers that would produce a profit for him and disseminate virtue.[11] He began in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1731. After the second editor died, his widow Elizabeth Timothy took over and made it a success, 1738–46. She was one of the colonial eras first woman printers.[12] For three decades Franklin maintained a close business relationship with her and her son Peter who took over in 1746.[13] The Gazette had a policy of impartiality in political debates, while creating the opportunity for public debate, which encouraged others to challenge authority. Editor Peter Timothy avoided blandness and crude bias, and after 1765 increasingly took a patriotic stand in the growing crisis with Great Britain.[14] However, FranklinsConnecticut Gazette (1755–68) proved unsuccessful.[15] Freemason In 1731, Franklin was initiated into the local Masonic Lodge. He became Grand Master in 1734, indicating his rapid rise to prominence in Pennsylvania.[16][17] That same year, he edited and published the first Masonic book in the Americas, a reprint ofJames Andersons Constitutions of the Free-Masons. Franklin remained a Freemason for the rest of his life.[18][19] Common-law marriage to Deborah Read Deborah Read Franklin (c. 1759). Common-law wife of Benjamin Franklin Sarah Franklin Bache(1743–1808). Daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read In 1723, at the age of 17, Franklin proposed to 15-year-oldDeborah Readwhile a boarder in the Read home. At that time, Reads mother was wary of allowing her young daughter to marry Franklin, who was on his way to London at Governor Sir William Keiths request, and also because of his financial instability. Her own husband had recently died, and Mrs. Read declined Franklins request to marry her daughter.[8] While Franklin was in London, his trip was extended, and there were problems with Sir Williams promises of support. Perhaps because of the circumstances of this delay, Deborah married a man named John Rodgers. This proved to be a regrettable decision. Rodgers shortly avoided his debts and prosecution by fleeing to Barbados with her dowry, leaving Deborah behind. Rodgerss fate was unknown, and because of bigamy laws, Deborah was not free to remarry. Franklin established a common-law marriage with Deborah Read on September 1, 1730. They took in Franklins young, recently acknowledged illegitimate son, William, and raised him in their household. In addition, they had two children together. The first,Francis Folger Franklin, born October 1732, died of smallpox in 1736. Their second child, Sarah Franklin, familiarly called Sally, was born in 1743. She eventually married Richard Bache, had seven children, and cared for her father in his old age. Deborahs fear of the sea meant that she never accompanied Franklin on any of his extended trips to Europe, despite his repeated requests. She wrote to him in November 1769 saying she was ill due to dissatisfied distress from his prolonged absence, but he did not return until his business was done.[20]Deborah Read Franklin died of a stroke in 1774, while Franklin was on an extended mission to England; he returned in 1775. Illegitimate son William William Franklin See also: William Franklin In 1730, at the age of 24, Franklin publicly acknowledged an illegitimate son named William, and raised him in his household. His mothers identity is not known.[21] He was educated in Philadelphia. Beginning at about age 30, William studied law in London in the early 1760s. He fathered an illegitimate son, William Franklin, born February 22, 1762. The boys mother was never identified, and he was placed in foster care. Franklin later that year married Elizabeth Downes, daughter of a planter from Barbados. After William passed the bar, his father helped him gain an appointment in 1763 as the last Royal Governor of New Jersey. A Loyalist, William and his father eventually broke relations over their differences about the American Revolutionary War. The elder Franklin could never accept Williams position. Deposed in 1776 by the revolutionary government of New Jersey and imprisoned for a time, the younger Franklin went to New York in 1782, which was still occupied by British troops. He became leader of the Board of Associated Loyalists—a quasi-military organization, headquartered in New York City. They initiated guerrilla forays into New Jersey, southern Connecticut, and New York counties north of the city.[22] When British troops evacuated from New York, William Franklin left with them and sailed to England. He settled in London, never to return to North America. In the preliminary peace talks in 1782 with Britain, ... Benjamin Franklin insisted that loyalists who had borne arms against the United States would be excluded from this plea (that they be given a general pardon). He was undoubtedly thinking of William Franklin.[23] William Temple Franklin, painted by John Trumbull (1790–1791) Benjamin Franklin found out about Temple (as he called him), his only patrilineal grandson, on his second mission to England. He got to know the boy and became fond of him, arranging for his education. He never told his wife Deborah about him.[24]Franklin gained custody and brought Temple with him upon return to Philadelphia in 1775. Deborah had died the year before. Franklin brought up Temple within his household. Beginning at age 16, Temple Franklin served as secretary to his grandfather during his mission to Paris during the Revolutionary War. Although he returned to the United States with his grandfather in the 1780s, he could not find an appointment. He returned to Europe, living for a time in England and then in France. He died in Paris in 1823 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Success as an author Franklins The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle(Jan. 1741) In 1733, Franklin began to publish the noted Poor Richards Almanack (with content both original and borrowed) under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, on which much of his popular reputation is based. Franklin frequently wrote under pseudonyms. Although it was no secret that Franklin was the author, his Richard Saunders character repeatedly denied it. Poor Richards Proverbs, adages from this almanac, such as A penny saved is twopence dear (often misquoted as A penny saved is a penny earned) and Fish and visitors stink in three days, remain common quotations in the modern world. Wisdom in folk society meant the ability to provide an apt adage for any occasion, and Franklins readers became well prepared. He sold about ten thousand copies per year (a circulation equivalent to nearly three million today).[8] In 1741 Franklin began publishing The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America, the first such monthly magazine of this type published in America. In 1758, the year he ceased writing for the Almanack, he printedFather Abrahams Sermon, also known as The Way to Wealth. Franklins autobiography, begun in 1771 but published after his death, has become one of the classics of the genre. Daylight saving time (DST) is often erroneously attributed to a 1784 satire that Franklin published anonymously.[25] Modern DST was first proposed by George Vernon Hudson in 1895.[26] Inventions and scientific inquiries Further information: Social contributions and studies by Benjamin Franklin Glass Armonica Franklin was a prodigious inventor. Among his many creations were thelightning rod, glass armonica (a glass instrument, not to be confused with the metal harmonica), Franklin stove, bifocal glasses and the flexible urinary catheter. Franklin never patented his inventions; in his autobiography he wrote, ... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.[27] His inventions also included social innovations, such as paying forward. Franklins fascination with innovation could be viewed as altruistic; he wrote that his scientific works were to be used for increasing efficiency and human improvement. One such improvement was his effort to expedite news services through his printing presses.[28] Population studies Franklin had a major influence on the emerging science ofdemography, or population studies.[29] Thomas Malthus is noted for his rule of population growth and credited Franklin for discovering it.[30] Kammen (1990) and Drake (2011) say Franklins Observations on the Increase of Mankind (1755) stands alongside Ezra Stiles Discourse on Christian Union (1760) as the leading works of eighteenth century Anglo-American demography; Drake credits Franklins wide readership and prophetic insight.[31][32] In the 1730s and 1740s, Franklin began taking notes on population growth, finding that the American population had the fastest growth rates on earth.[33] Emphasizing that population growth depended on food supplies—a line of thought later developed by Thomas Malthus—Franklin emphasized the abundance of food and available farmland in America. He calculated that Americas population was doubling every twenty years and would surpass that of England in a century.[34] In 1751, he drafted Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, &c. Four years later, it was anonymously printed in Boston, and it was quickly reproduced in Britain, where it influenced the economists Adam Smith and later Thomas Malthus. Franklins predictions alarmed British leaders who did not want to be surpassed by the colonies, so they became more willing to impose restrictions on the colonial economy.[35] Franklin was also a pioneer in the study of slave demography, as shown in his 1755 essay.[36] Atlantic Ocean currents As deputy postmaster, Franklin became interested in the North Atlantic Ocean circulation patterns. While in England in 1768, he heard a complaint from the Colonial Board of Customs: Why did it take British packet ships carrying mail several weeks longer to reach New York than it took an average merchant ship to reachNewport, Rhode Island? The merchantmen had a longer and more complex voyage because they left from London, while the packets left from Falmouth in Cornwall. Franklin put the question to his cousin Timothy Folger, aNantucket whaler captain, who told him that merchant ships routinely avoided a strong eastbound mid-ocean current. The mail packet captains sailed dead into it, thus fighting an adverse current of 3 miles per hour (5 km/h). Franklin worked with Folger and other experienced ship captains, learning enough to chart the current and name it the Gulf Stream, by which it is still known today. Franklin published his Gulf Stream chart in 1770 in England, where it was completely ignored. Subsequent versions were printed in France in 1778 and the U.S. in 1786. The British edition of the chart, which was the original, was so thoroughly ignored that everyone assumed it was lost forever until Phil Richardson, aWoods Hole oceanographer and Gulf Stream expert, discovered it in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris in 1980.[37][38] This find received front page coverage in the New York Times.[39] It took many years for British sea captains to adopt Franklins advice on navigating the current; once they did, they were able to trim two weeks from their sailing time.[40][41] In 1853, the oceanographer and cartographer Matthew Fontaine Maury noted that Franklin only charted and codified the Gulf Stream, he did notdiscover it: Though it was Dr. Franklin and Captain Tim Folger, who first turned the Gulf Stream to nautical account, the discovery that there was a Gulf Stream cannot be said to belong to either of them, for its existence was known to Peter Martyr dAnghiera, and to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in the 16th century.[42] Electricity His discoveries resulted from his investigations of electricity. Franklin proposed that vitreous and resinous electricity were not different types of electrical fluid (as electricity was called then), but the same electrical fluid under different pressures. He was the first to label them as positive and negativerespectively,[43] and he was the first to discover the principle ofconservation of charge.[44] In 1750 he published a proposal for an experiment to prove thatlightning is electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm. On May 10, 1752,Thomas-François Dalibard of France conducted Franklins experiment using a 40-foot-tall (12 m) iron rod instead of a kite, and he extracted electrical sparks from a cloud. On June 15 Franklin may possibly have conducted his well known kite experiment in Philadelphia, successfully extracting sparks from a cloud. Franklins experiment was not written up with credit[45] untilJoseph Priestleys 1767 History and Present Status of Electricity; the evidence shows that Franklin was insulated (not in a conducting path, where he would have been in danger ofelectrocution). Others, such as Prof. Georg Wilhelm Richmann, were indeed electrocuted during the months following Franklins experiment. In his writings, Franklin indicates that he was aware of the dangers and offered alternative ways to demonstrate that lightning was electrical, as shown by his use of the concept of electrical ground. If Franklin did perform this experiment, he may not have done it in the way that is often described—flying the kite and waiting to be struck by lightning—as it would have been dangerous.[46] Instead he used the kite to collect some electric charge from a storm cloud, which implied that lightning was electrical.[citation needed] On October 19 in a letter to England with directions for repeating the experiment, Franklin wrote: When rain has wet the kite twine so that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it streams out plentifully from the key at the approach of your knuckle, and with this key a phial, or Leiden jar, may be charged: and from electric fire thus obtained spirits may be kindled, and all other electric experiments [may be] performed which are usually done by the help of a rubber glass globe or tube; and therefore the sameness of the electrical matter with that of lightening completely demonstrated.[47] Franklins electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod. He noted that conductors with a sharp rather than a smooth point could discharge silently, and at a far greater distance. He surmised that this could help protect buildings from lightning by attaching upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground; ... Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief! Following a series of experiments on Franklins own house, lightning rods were installed on the Academy of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in 1752.[48] In recognition of his work with electricity, Franklin received theRoyal Societys Copley Medal in 1753, and in 1756 he became one of the few 18th-century Americans elected as a Fellow of the Society. The cgs unit of electric charge has been named after him: one franklin (Fr) is equal to one statcoulomb. Wave theory of light Franklin was, along with his contemporary Leonhard Euler, the only major scientist who supported Christiaan Huygens wave theory of light, which was basically ignored by the rest of thescientific community. In the 18th century Newtons corpuscular theory was held to be true; only after Youngs well known slit experiment in 1803 were most scientists persuaded to believe Huygens theory.[49] Meteorology On October 21, 1743, according to popular myth, a storm moving from the southwest denied Franklin the opportunity of witnessing alunar eclipse. Franklin was said to have noted that the prevailing winds were actually from the northeast, contrary to what he had expected. In correspondence with his brother, Franklin learned that the same storm had not reached Boston until after the eclipse, despite the fact that Boston is to the northeast of Philadelphia. He deduced that storms do not always travel in the direction of the prevailing wind, a concept that greatly influencedmeteorology.[50] After the Icelandic volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783, and the subsequent harsh European winter of 1784, Franklin made observations connecting the causal nature of these two separate events. He wrote about them in a lecture series.[51] Traction kiting Though Benjamin Franklin has been most noted kite-wise with his lightning experiments, he has also been noted by many for his using kites to pull humans and ships across waterways.[52] TheGeorge Pocock in the book A TREATISE on The Aeropleustic Art, or Navigation in the Air, by means of Kites, or Buoyant Sails[53]noted being inspired by Benjamin Franklins traction of his body by kite power across a waterway. In his later years he suggested using the technique for pulling ships. Concept of cooling Franklin noted a principle of refrigeration by observing that on a very hot day, he stayed cooler in a wet shirt in a breeze than he did in a dry one. To understand this phenomenon more clearly Franklin conducted experiments. In 1758 on a warm day inCambridge, England, Franklin and fellow scientist John Hadleyexperimented by continually wetting the ball of a mercurythermometer with ether and using bellows to evaporate the ether.[54] With each subsequent evaporation, the thermometer read a lower temperature, eventually reaching 7 °F (−14 °C). Another thermometer showed that the room temperature was constant at 65 °F (18 °C). In his letter Cooling by Evaporation,Franklin noted that, One may see the possibility of freezing a man to death on a warm summers day. Temperatures effect on electrical conductivity According to Michael Faraday, Franklins experiments on the non-conduction of ice are worth mentioning, although the law of the general effect of liquefaction on electrolytes is not attributed to Franklin.[55] However, as reported in 1836 by Prof. A. D. Bache of the University of Pennsylvania, the law of the effect of heat on the conduction of bodies otherwise non-conductors, for example, glass, could be attributed to Franklin. Franklin writes, ... A certain quantity of heat will make some bodies good conductors, that will not otherwise conduct ... and again, ... And water, though naturally a good conductor, will not conduct well when frozen into ice.[56] Oceanography findings An aging Franklin accumulated all his oceanographic findings inMaritime Observations, published by the Philosophical Societystransactions in 1786.[57] It contained ideas for sea anchors,catamaran hulls, watertight compartments, shipboard lightning rods and a soup bowl designed to stay stable in stormy weather. Decision-making In a 1772 letter to Joseph Priestley, Franklin lays out the earliest known description of the Pro & Con list,[58] a common decision-making technique: ... my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavour to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Ballance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly.[58] Musical endeavors Franklin is known to have played the violin, the harp, and the guitar. He also composed music, notably a string quartet in early classical style. He developed a much-improved version of theglass harmonica, in which the glasses rotate on a shaft, with the players fingers held steady, instead of the other way around; this version soon found its way to Europe.[59] Chess Franklin was an avid chess player. He was playing chess by around 1733, making him the first chess player known by name in the American colonies.[60] His essay on The Morals of Chess inColumbian magazine in December 1786 is the second known writing on chess in America.[60] This essay in praise of chess and prescribing a code of behavior for the game has been widely reprinted and translated.[61][62][63][64] He and a friend also used chess as a means of learning the Italian language, which both were studying; the winner of each game between them had the right to assign a task, such as parts of the Italian grammar to be learned by heart, to be performed by the loser before their next meeting.[65] Franklin was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.[60] Public life Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Wilson, 1759 In 1736, Franklin created the Union Fire Company, one of the first volunteerfirefighting companies inAmerica. In the same year, he printed a new currency for New Jersey based on innovative anti-counterfeiting techniques he had devised. Throughout his career, Franklin was an advocate for paper money, publishing A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency in 1729, and his printer printed money. He was influential in the more restrained and thus successful monetary experiments in the Middle Colonies, which stopped deflationwithout causing excessive inflation. In 1766 he made a case for paper money to the British House of Commons.[66] As he matured, Franklin began to concern himself more with public affairs. In 1743, he set forth a scheme for The Academy, Charity School, and College of Philadelphia. He was appointed president of the Academy on November 13, 1749; the Academy and the Charity School opened on August 13, 1751. In 1743, Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society to help scientific men discuss their discoveries and theories. He began the electrical research that, along with other scientific inquiries, would occupy him for the rest of his life, in between bouts of politics and moneymaking.[8] An illustration from Franklins paper on Water-spouts and Whirlwinds In 1747, he retired from printing and went into other businesses.[67] He created a partnership with his foreman, David Hall, which provided Franklin with half of the shops profits for 18 years. This lucrative business arrangement provided leisure time for study, and in a few years he had made discoveries that gave him a reputation with educated persons throughout Europe and especially in France. Franklin became involved in Philadelphia politics and rapidly progressed. In October 1748, he was selected as a councilman, in June 1749 he became a Justice of the Peace for Philadelphia, and in 1751 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly. On August 10, 1753, Franklin was appointed joint deputy postmaster-general of North America. His most notable service in domestic politics was his reform of the postal system, with mail sent out every week.[8] Pennsylvania Hospital by William Strickland, 1755 In 1751, Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond obtained a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature to establish a hospital.Pennsylvania Hospital was the first hospital in what was to become the United States of America. Between 1750 and 1753, the educational triumvirate[68] of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, the American Dr. Samuel Johnson of Stratford, Connecticut, and the immigrant Scottish schoolteacher Dr. William Smith built on Franklins initial scheme and created what Bishop James Madison, president of the College of William & Mary, called a new-model[69] plan or style of American college. Franklin solicited, printed in 1752, and promoted an American textbook of moral philosophy from the American Dr. Samuel Johnson titled Elementa Philosophica[70] to be taught in the new colleges to replace courses in denominational divinity. Seal of the College of Philadelphia In June 1753, Johnson, Franklin, and Smith met in Stratford.[71] They decided the new-model college would focus on theprofessions, with classes taught in English instead of Latin, have subject matter experts as professors instead of one tutor leading a class for four years, and there would be no religious test for admission.[72] Johnson went on to found Kings College (now Columbia University) in New York City in 1754, while Franklin hired William Smith as Provost of the College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1755. At its first commencement, on May 17, 1757, seven men graduated; six with a Bachelor of Arts and one as Master of Arts. It was later merged with the University of the State of Pennsylvania to become the University of Pennsylvania. The College was to become influential in guiding the founding documents of the United States: in the Continental Congress, for example, over one third of the college-affiliated men who contributed the Declaration of Independence between September 4, 1774, and July 4, 1776, were affiliated with the College.[73] In 1753, both Harvard University[74] and Yale University[75]awarded him honorary degrees.[76] In 1754, he headed the Pennsylvania delegation to the Albany Congress. This meeting of several colonies had been requested by the Board of Trade in England to improve relations with the Indians and defense against the French. Franklin proposed a broad Plan of Union for the colonies. While the plan was not adopted, elements of it found their way into the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. In 1756, Franklin organized the Pennsylvania Militia (see Associated Regiment of Philadelphia under heading of Pennsylvanias 103rd Artillery and 111th Infantry Regiment atContinental Army). He used Tun Tavern as a gathering place to recruit a regiment of soldiers to go into battle against the Native American uprisings that beset the American colonies. Reportedly Franklin was elected Colonel of the Associated Regiment but declined the honor. Join, or Die: This political cartoon by Franklin urged the colonies to join together during the French and Indian War (Seven Years War). Also in 1756, Franklin became a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (now the Royal Society of Arts or RSA, which had been founded in 1754), whose early meetings took place incoffee shops in LondonsCovent Garden district, close to Franklins main residence in Craven Street during his missions to England. The Craven street residence, which he used on various lengthy missions from 1757 to 1775, is the only one of his residences to survive. It opened to the public as the Benjamin Franklin Housemuseum on January 17, 2006. After his return to the United States in 1775, Franklin became the Societys Corresponding Member and remained closely connected with the Society. The RSA instituted a Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Franklins birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership of the RSA. Sketch of the original Tun Tavern In 1757, he was sent to England by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family, the proprietors of the colony. He remained there for five years, striving to end the proprietors prerogative to overturn legislation from the elected Assembly, and their exemption from paying taxes on their land. His lack of influential allies in Whitehall led to the failure of this mission. Whilst in London, Franklin became involved in radical politics. He was a member of the Club of Honest Whigs, alongside thinkers such as Richard Price, the minister of Newington Green Unitarian Church who ignited the Revolution Controversy. During his stays at Craven Street between 1757 and 1775, Franklin developed a close friendship with his landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and her circle of friends and relations, in particular her daughter Mary, who was more often known as Polly. In 1759, he visited Edinburgh with his son, and recalled his conversations there as the densest happiness of my life.[77] In February 1759, the University of St Andrews awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and in October of the same year he was granted Freedom of the Borough of St Andrews.[78] In 1762, Oxford University awarded Franklin an honorary doctorate for his scientific accomplishments; from then on he went by Doctor Franklin. He also managed to secure an appointed post for his illegitimate son, William Franklin, by then an attorney, as Colonial Governor of New Jersey.[8] He joined the influential Lunar Society of Birmingham, with whom he regularly corresponded and, on occasion, visited inBirmingham. Franklin, in his fur hat, charmed the French with what they perceived as rustic New Worldgenius.[Note 3] In December 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France ascommissioner for the United States. He took with him as secretary his 16-year-old grandson, William Temple Franklin. They lived in a home in the Parisian suburb ofPassy, donated by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, who supported the United States. Franklin remained in France until 1785. He conducted the affairs of his country toward the French nation with great success, which included securing a critical military alliance in 1778 and negotiating the Treaty of Paris (1783). Among his associates in France was Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau—a French Revolutionary writer, orator and statesman who in early 1791 would be elected president of theNational Assembly.[95] In July 1784, Franklin met with Mirabeau and contributed anonymous materials that the Frenchman used in his first signed work: Considerations sur lordre de Cincinnatus.[96]The publication was critical of the Society of the Cincinnati, established in the United States. Franklin and Mirabeau thought of it as a noble order, inconsistent with the egalitarian ideals of the new republic.[97] During his stay in France, Benjamin Franklin was active as afreemason, serving as Grand Master of the Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs from 1779 until 1781. His lodge number was 24. He was a Past Grand Master of Pennsylvania. In 1784, when Franz Mesmerbegan to publicize his theory of animal magnetism which was considered offensive by many, Louis XVI appointed a commission to investigate it. These included the chemist Antoine Lavoisier, the physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailly, and Benjamin Franklin.[98] While in France Franklin designed and commissioned Augustin Dupré to engrave the medallion Libertas Americana minted in Paris in 1783. Franklins advocacy for religious tolerance in France contributed to arguments made by French philosophers and politicians that resulted inLouis XVIs signing of theEdict of Versailles in November 1787. This edict effectively nullified the Edict of Fontainebleau, which had denied non-Catholics civil status and the right to openly practice their faith.[99] Franklin also served as American minister to Sweden, although he never visited that country. He negotiated a treaty that was signed in April 1783. On August 27, 1783, in Paris, Franklin witnessed the worlds first hydrogen balloon flight.[100] Le Globe, created by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, was watched by a vast crowd as it rose from the Champ de Mars (now the site of the Eiffel Tower).[101] This so enthused Franklin that he subscribed financially to the next project to build a manned hydrogen balloon.[102] On December 1, 1783, Franklin was seated in the special enclosure for honoured guests when La Charlière took off from the Jardin des Tuileries, piloted by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert.[100][103] Constitutional Convention Franklins return to Philadelphia, 1785, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris When he returned home in 1785, Franklin occupied a position only second to that ofGeorge Washington as the champion of American independence. Le Ray honored him with a commissioned portrait painted by Joseph Duplessis, which now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of theSmithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. After his return, Franklin became an abolitionist and freed his two slaves. He eventually became president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.[104] In 1787, Franklin served as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention. He held an honorary position and seldom engaged in debate. He is the only Founding Father who is a signatory of all four of the major documents of the founding of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris and the United States Constitution. In 1787, a group of prominent ministers in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, proposed the foundation of a new college named in Franklins honor. Franklin donated £200 towards the development of Franklin College (now called Franklin & Marshall College). Between 1771 and 1788, he finished his autobiography. While it was at first addressed to his son, it was later completed for the benefit of mankind at the request of a friend. Franklin strongly supported the right to freedom of speech: In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech ... Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, which is the right of every man ... (1722)[105] In his later years, as Congress was forced to deal with the issue ofslavery, Franklin wrote several essays that stressed the importance of the abolition of slavery and of the integration of blacks into American society. These writings included: • An Address to the Public, (1789) • A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789), and • Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim on the Slave Trade (1790). In 1790, Quakers from New York and Pennsylvania presented their petition for abolition to Congress. Their argument against slavery was backed by the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society and its president, Benjamin Franklin. President of Pennsylvania Franklin autograph check signed during his Presidency of Pennsylvania Special balloting conducted October 18, 1785, unanimously elected Franklin the sixthpresident of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, replacingJohn Dickinson. The office of president of Pennsylvania was analogous to the modern position of governor. It is not clear why Dickinson had to be replaced with less than two weeks remaining before the regular election. Franklin held that office for slightly over three years, longer than any other, and served the constitutional limit of three full terms. Shortly after his initial election he was reelected to a full term on October 29, 1785, and again in the fall of 1786 and on October 31, 1787. Officially, his term concluded on November 5, 1788, but there is some question regarding the de facto end of his term, suggesting that the aging Franklin may not have been actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the council toward the end of his time in office. Virtue, religion, and personal beliefs A bust of Franklin by Jean-Antoine Houdon Franklin bust in the ArchivesDepartment of Columbia University inNew York City Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. Hisautobiography lists his 13 virtues as: 1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. 3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. 4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. 6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. 11. Tranquility. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or anothers peace or reputation. 13. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. Franklin did not try to work on them all at once. Instead, he would work on one and only one each week leaving all others to their ordinary chance. While Franklin did not live completely by his virtues, and by his own admission he fell short of them many times, he believed the attempt made him a better man contributing greatly to his success and happiness, which is why in his autobiography, he devoted more pages to this plan than to any other single point; in his autobiography Franklin wrote, I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit.[144] Slaves and slavery During Franklins lifetime slaves were numerous in Philadelphia. In 1750, half the persons in Philadelphia who had established probate estates owned slaves. Dock workers in the city consisted of 15% slaves. Franklin owned as many as seven slaves, two males of whom worked in his household and his shop. Franklin posted paid ads for the sale of slaves and for the capture of runaway slaves and allowed the sale of slaves in his general store. Franklin profited from both the international and domestic slave trade, even criticizing slaves who had run off to join theBritish Army during the colonial wars of the 1740s and 1750s. Franklin, however, later became a cautious abolitionist and became an outspoken critic of landed gentry slavery. In 1758, Franklin advocated the opening of a school for the education of black slaves in Philadelphia. After returning from England in 1762, Franklin became more anti-slavery, in his view believing that the institution promoted black degradation rather than the idea blacks were inherently inferior. By 1770, Franklin had freed his slaves and attacked the system of slavery and the international slave trade. Franklin, however, refused to publicly debate the issue of slavery at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Similar to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin tended to take both sides of the issue of slavery, never fully divesting himself from the institution.[145][146] Death and legacy The grave of Benjamin Franklin,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Memorial marble statue, Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Benjamin Franklin (seated) in theNational Constitution Center, Philadelphia The Princess and the Patriot: Ekaterina Dashkova, Benjamin Franklin and the Age of Enlightenment exhibition opened in Philadelphia in February 2006 and ran through December 2006. Benjamin Franklin and Dashkova met only once, in Paris in 1781. Franklin was 75 and Dashkova was 37. Franklin invited Dashkova to become the first woman to join the American Philosophical Society; she was the only woman so honored for another 80 years. Later, Dashkova reciprocated by making him the first American member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Places and things named after Benjamin Franklin Further information: List of places named for Benjamin Franklin As a founding father of the United States, Franklins name has been attached to many things. Among these are: • The State of Franklin, a short-lived independent state formed during the American Revolutionary War • Counties in at least 16 U.S. states • Several major landmarks in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Franklins longtime home, including: • Franklin and Marshall College in nearby Lancaster • Franklin Field, a football field once home to thePhiladelphia Eagles of the National Football League and the home field of the University of Pennsylvania Quakerssince 1895 • The Benjamin Franklin Bridge across the Delaware Riverbetween Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey • The Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia, which presents the Benjamin Franklin Medal • The Sons of Ben soccer supporters club for the Philadelphia Union • Ben Franklin Stores chain of variety stores, with a key-and-spark logo • Franklin Templeton Investments an investment firm whose New York Stock Exchange ticker abbreviation, BEN, is also in honor of Franklin • The Ben Franklin effect from the field of psychology • Benjamin Franklin Shibe, baseball executive and namesake of the longtime Philadelphia baseball stadium • Benjamin Franklin Hawkeye Pierce, the fictional character from the M*A*S*H novels, film, and television program • Benjamin Franklin Gates, Nicolas Cages character from theNational Treasure films. • Several US Navy ships have been named the USS Franklin or the USS Bonhomme Richard, the latter being a French translation of his penname Poor Richard. Two aircraft carriers, USS Franklin (CV-13) and USS Bon Homme Richard (CV-