Ben Franklin- 15th child out of 17 children was born to a poor candle-maker. Ben was enrolled in school at the age of 8. He learned reading and writing for two years but was not a good math student. His father, sensing that Ben might not make much of himself with such low math skills, pulled him out of school and sent him to work for his brother James.

Birthplace and home of young Ben Franklin

As apprentice printer (James was the master printer) Ben had to sign a contract with his brother that forced him to work for nine years. Wages were terrible and the work was very demanding.

The actual press used by Ben Franklin in James’ printing shop.

Poor Richard's 1733 AlmanackBenjamin Franklin's First Almanack

Excerpts from Franklin's 1733 Almanack

He's a Fool that makes his Doctor his Heir.

He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleasThree may keep a Secret, if two of them are dead

As postmaster, Ben had to figure out routes for delivering the mail. He went out riding in his carriage to measure the routes and needed a way to keep track of the distance. He invented a simple odometer and attached it to his carriage. This made the postal service much faster and more reliable.

Franklin proved the old adage "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" with his creation of the bifocal lens. Unfortunate enough to be both myopic (near-sighted)

and hyperopic (far-sighted), Franklin was frustrated that he had to constantly switch his pairs of glasses, depending on what he was trying to focus on. He longed for the

ability to see both near and far with a single frame. In order to accomplish this, Benjamin had the lenses of two pairs of spectacles cut in half and put half of each lens in one sole frame. Today, millions of individuals take advantage of Franklin's bifocals, giving people a convenient way in which to correct their vision for both

distance and reading.

The Franklin Stove- a cast iron insert that cut down drafts and chimney fires. It kept more of the heat in the house rather than going up the chimney.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God

entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

He invented the armonica.He invented the rocking chair.He invented the street lamp.He was the first political cartoonist.He was the best swimmer of his time.He originated the first circulating library.He discovered the Gulf Stream.He invented the lightning conductor.He is the originator of Daylight Saving Time.He introduced newspaper carrying by mail.He first charted the course of northeast storms.He originated the first street-cleaning department.He discovered the identity of lightning and electricity.He invented commercial advertising.He was the inventor of double spectacles.He was the first to discover that exhaled air is poisonous.He gave the first explanation of the Aurora Borealis.He is the father of modern dentistry.He organized the first fire department.He was the founder of the Democratic party.He established the modern post-office system.He invented the Franklin stove.He was the first to use illustrations in advertising.He was a pioneer of the modern voting system for Congress.He was the first man to understand the nature of a cold.He originated the first system of ventilation.

Armonica

This simple musical instrument was played by touching the edge of the spinning glass with dampened fingers. The armonica's beautiful tones appealed to many composers, including Mozart and Beethoven.

   If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead & rotten,either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.    

                                                     —Benjamin Franklin