Great Inventors Codexery

Benjamin Franklin

Founding Father, scientist, inventor, and diplomat.

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Benjamin Franklin

via Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin · see source

He was also a successful printer, newspaper editor, and publisher of Poor Richard's Almanack.[1] One of the United States' Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was a polymath who helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence.[2]

Life and work

Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston on January 17, 1706.[3] His father Josiah was a tallow chandler and candlemaker who emigrated from England.[4] He formed the Junto in 1727, a discussion group for self-improvement and community issues.[5] Seeking a fresh start, Franklin fled to Philadelphia when he was 17 years old.[6]

Franklin first issued Poor Richard's Almanack in 1732, using the pen name Richard Saunders.[7] In 1753, the British colonies gained Franklin as their deputy postmaster-general.[8] As the initial U.S. ambassador to France, Franklin's diplomatic work was crucial for obtaining French assistance during the American Revolution.[9]

What the cited sources add

The Constitutional Law Reporter notes that Deborah Read helped manage Franklin's businesses, allowing him time for political and scientific work.[10] The Poor Richard's Almanack account from the Benjamin Franklin Historical Society explains that Franklin considered the almanac a vehicle of instruction for common people.[11] The same source notes that only three copies of the 1733 original issue exist.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brands, "The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin", Knopf Doubleday Publishing, 2010, p. 390; Goodrich, "Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence", W. Reed & Company, 1829, p. 267; "William Goddard and the Constitutional Post", Smithsonian National Postal Museum (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morris, "Seven Who Shaped Our Destiny: The Founding Fathers as Revolutionaries", Harper & Row, 1973, p. 1, 5–30 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Isaacson 2003, p. 491–492 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Huang, "Franklin's Father Josiah: Life of a Colonial Boston Tallow Chandler, 1657–1745", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 2000, p. i–155 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mumford, "Social innovation: ten cases from Benjamin Franklin", Creativity Research Journal, 2002, p. 253–266; David Waldstreicher, ed., A Companion to Benjamin Franklin (2011) p. 30.; Lemay 2005a, p. 92–94,123 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carl Van Doren, Benjamin Franklin. (1945). pages 252–253 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Poor Richard's Almanack – Benjamin Franklin Historical Society"; "Benjamin Franklin – Biography and Literary Works of Benjamin Franklin", Literary Devices, August 20, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster General", United States Postal Service (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Benjamin Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nash, 2006, pp. 618–638. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "Deborah Read", Constitutional Law Reporter, November 28, 2018. facts only, no text reused. constitutionallawreporter.com
  11. "Poor Richard's Almanack – Benjamin Franklin Historical Society". facts only, no text reused. benjamin-franklin-history.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Benjamin Franklin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Constitution of the United StatesFreedom of religionCharles I of EnglandInfant baptismJoseph AddisonBarbadosDowrySmallpox

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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