People we look up to

Benjamin Franklin was the fifteenth son of a whole of seventeen brothers (four I happen brothers of father and the rest brothers of father and mother). His formation limited itself to basic studies in the South Grammar School, and only up to ten years (1714 - 1720). First he worked helping his father in the factory of candles and soaps of his property. After looking for satisfaction in other trades (sailor, carpenter, bricklayer, turner), at the age of twelve started being employed as apprentice at the press of his brother, James Franklin. For indication of this one, he writes his two only poetry, "The tragedy of the beacon" and "Singing of a sailor when the famous Teach was caught, also known by Barbanegra the pirate".

He left this kind for the critiques of his father. When he was 15 years old, his brother founded the New England Courant, considered as the first newspaper really independent from the British colonies. In the above mentioned diary, Benjamin wrote his first works, with the Silence Dogood's pseudonymous one (silent intruder). With him he writes his first journalistic articles, of critical tone with the authorities of the epoch.

In 1723 it was established in Philadelphia, but in 1724 he travelled to England to complete and end his formation as printer in Palmer's press. There Dissertation publishes on the freedom and the need, on the pleasure and the pain. It returned to Philadelphia on October 11, 1726. Initially he worked as administrative officer for Denham. In 1727, after recovering of a pleurisy, co - founded the intellectual United club, and on the following year it was established by his associate Meredith in his first own press.

In September, 1729 the newspaper bought The Gazette of Pennsylvania, which it published until 1748. In 1730 he married with Deborah Read, with whom he had three children, William (1731), Francis (1733) and Sarah (1743). Published in addition the Almanac of the poor Richard (1733 - 1757) and was the manager of the currency issue in the British colonies of America (1727).

In 1731 he took part in the foundation of the first public library of Philadelphia, and the same year adhirió to the Freemasonry. In 1736 there founded the Union Fire Company, the first fire brigade of Philadelphia. Also he took part in the foundation of the University of Pennsylvania (1749) and the first hospital of the city. In 1763 he devotes itself to realize trips to New Jersey, New York and New England to study and to improve the Postal Service of the United States. His last bed-ridden year of life happened almost quite, I fall ill again with pleurisy. Nevertheless,he did not stop from his political activities during this period. Finally, he died for worsening of his disease in 1790, to the age of 84 years.

Lucky, we have a lot of information about the life and Franklin's points of view, due to the fact that at the age of 40 he began to write his autobiography (supposedly for his son). This one was published posthumously by the title of The life deprived of Benjamin Franklin. The first edition saw the light in Paris in March, 1791 (Memoires De La Vie Privee), less than one year after his death, and in 1793 the translation was available to the Englishman (The Deprive Your Your Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin).

Front page of the Almanac of the poor Richard of 1739.

Scientific work

His interest for the scientific topics gave beginning in the middle of century, and coincided with the beginning of his political activity. It was clearly influenced by contemporary scientists as Isaac Newton, or Joseph Addison (specially his works I Test on the understanding of Locke and The spectator). In 1743 he is elected a president of the Philosophical American Society.

From 1747 he devoted himself principally to the study of the electrical phenomena. It enunciated the Beginning of conservation of the electricity. Of his studies he is born his more out-standing scientific work, Experiments and observations on electricity. In 1752 it carries out in Philadelphia his famous experiment with her commit. It tied one commit with metal skeleton to a floss thread, in whose end was taking a key also metallic. Making it fly a day of storm, it confirmed that the key was loaded with electricity, demonstrating so the clouds are loaded with electricity and the beams are electrical unloads. Thanks to this experiment it created his more famous invention, the lightningrod. From there, they established themselves for the whole condition (there were already 400 in 1782), coming to Europe in the decade of ' 60. He presented the theory of the only fluid to explain both types of atmospheric electricity, the positive one and the denial, from the observation of the behavior of the rods of amber, or of the electrical driver, between others.

Franklin was a prolific scientist and inventor. Besides the lightningrod, he invented also Franklin's so called oven or chimney of Pennsylvania (1744), metallic and surer than the traditional chimneys; the bifocal lenses, for his own use; a humidificador for stoves and chimneys; first one of the urinary flexible catheters, to treat the urinary calculations of his brother John; the cuentakilómetros, in his stage of work in the Postal Office; the swimmer fins, the harmonica of crystal... He studied also the oceanic warm currents of the east coast of North America, being the first one in describing the Gulf Stream.

In 1756 he was elected a member of the prestigious Royal Society, and in 1772 the Academy of the Sciences of Paris designated him as one of the most celebrated alive not French scientists.

Experiment of commits, that led him to inventing the lightningrod.

Political labor

Signature of Benjamin Franklin.

His first incursion in the politics took place in 1736, year in the one that was elected a member of the General Assembly of Philadelphia. In 1747 it organized the volunteers' first militia to defend Pennsylvania, being nominated a member of the commission of negotiation by the native Indians in 1749.

He took part actively in the process of independence of the United States. It started by realizing diverse trips to London, between 1757 and 1775, as representative entrusted to plead the interests of Pennsylvania.he managed to intervene before the Chamber of the Common ones in 1766.

He took part of very intense form in this process.he influenced the draft of the Declaration of Independence (1776), helping Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and went away to France in search of support to continue the campaign against the British troops. There he was nominated an official American representative in 1775, signed an agreement of trade and cooperation (1778) and reached the Minister's post for France (1779).

He contributes to the end of the War of Independence, with the signature of the Agreement of Paris (1783). From there, I contribute to the draft of the American Constitution (1787). In 1785 he was elected a governor of Pennsylvania, and devoted itself of plenary session to the construction of the North American nation. In 1787 it began to emphasize his career as abolitionist, being a chosen president of the Society To promote the Abolition of the Slavery, in the most precocious beginning of a long process that would end in the Civil War.

Benjamin Franklin's face in the bills of 100 dollars.