Now that we are all grown up reading all the wealth building books take a fresh breath of air and read about some of the true Heroes of mankind. His print shop beginnings synergistically led to his writing and publishing ways to improve society were the genesis of a genius that helped create the America that we love. Wait till you see the amazing lists of inventions he created, all out of necessity.
In a nutshell: He was born in Boston, 1705. He loved swimming and the water and it was a lifelong interest of his. He learned the printing business from an older brother, room and board without pay. He loved to read and books were so rare the Bible was one of the few books one could buy. He read that meat wasn't good for you. He wanted money to buy books but didn't have any. He showed his brother that not eating meat would save money so could he get that money from what his brother would not have to buy. So, he ate vegetables and read for his lunch. He wrote under other names- Silence Dogood Letters, yet couldn't get the respect of his brother. He ran away at 17 from the servitude deal with his brother. He traveled to London and back then decided to settle down. He drew up a plan on how to behave. His vow: to live simply and never waste money, to be honest in word and deed, never to speak badly of anyone even if true, and work hard "quite through an old age"
He started a print shop in Philadelphia 1728. He married and had 2 sons and a daughter. Out of the problem of the cost of books he started with friends that created a networking mastermind group that contributed to the community. Out of that sharing of books in 1731 he started the first public library in America. 1732 created a book called Poor Richard's almanac. It was along with the Bible one of the few items people could afford. It was a mix of calendar; full moon, tide charts, weather forecasts, recipes, riddles jokes, songs words of wisdom and people loved it. Things still said today that he said then" A penny saved is a penny earned, and honest is the best policy," His almanac was published in other countries, which laid the ground work for later help for our country. He gave ideas on how to prevent fires in 1935 and in 1936 started the first volunteer fire department called Union Fire Company. He organized a system for getting the city streets paved. The dust solution of that was to et the streets swept starting the first sanitation and garbage collection. He made the plans for a better police force. In interest in higher education started the Philadelphia Academy, which grew to become the University of Pennsylvania. He formed the first hospital in America. 1937 he was made postmaster of Philadelphia. He studied the mail carrier system and improved it through unification and systemization of all the colonies. He noticed a field that was especially green and discovered the owner, spilled gypsum. So, he saw that it would make crops grow better and was the first artificial fertilizer. He traveled across the ocean and studied what he felt was a river in the ocean. He studied it and took the temperature discovering the Gulf Stream, the river in the ocean. He studied illness and saw that lead made painters, printers and plumbers ill. He felt colds were not from the cold air as many thought He loved to swim and breathe fresh air. He noticed others caught colds from breathing the same air near each other's faces in small shut up rooms. He made many practical inventions the claw for reaching hard to items. The fireplace didn't warm well enough so he invented a stove later called the Franklin stove, a big metal box as a means of heat. People saved money by using less wood for warmth. 1751 took office of the local government. 1752 performed the electrical experiment of the kite, antenna and metal key. 1753 He invented the lightning rod. Learning the pointed rod attracted lightning he showed people in his almanac that they could run a wire from the rod above their home and down to the ground so lightning would never hit the house and burn it. There were many lightning fires before that. He started the first fire department. He was appointed deputy postmaster general for all the American colonies. Electricity fascinated him for many years and he worked out the electron theory and the positive and negative nature of currents. He made the first battery. He was the wordsmith that came up with terms to explain electricity i.e. Battery, condenser, conduction. 1957 he went to England to represent the colonies on grievances. 1766 fought against the stamp act taxation imposed by England on the colonies. 1774 appointed to the second continental congress. 1776 he was part of the committee to draw up the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. He went to France to get help for the American Revolution. 1781 that war ended in success. 1783 He drew up the peace treaty between the US and England. 1784 He invented bifocals. Needing both types of glasses he had a glasscutter cut them and make them into one pair. At 81 years in 1787 he signed the United States Constitution.
1789 his last year to live, he signed a petition to the first congress of the United States to call for the end of slavery.
This is a book synopsis writen by Lynne Pope from The Story of Benjamin Franklin, Amazing American by Margaret Davidson.
Everyone in our families should know the history of Ben Franklin buy the book and read it to them together.
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