Benjamin Franklin Facts For Kids –  All About Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is an important person in American History as he was one of the founding fathers of the USA. He is well known as his face appears on the $100 bill since it was first issued in 1914. When studying the history of the USA, learning about the founding fathers and their achievements is very important. We have gathered a complete set of Benjamin Franklin Facts For Kids that will help kids in learning all about Benjamin Franklin. Here we have the best Benjamin Franklin biography for kids where kids will learn who he was, his full name, his height, why he is famous, his importance, what he did for the USA, his birth, education, childhood, adulthood, religion, ethnicity, his role in the American revolution, occupation, work, accomplishments, contribution to science, inventions, his family, personal life, interests, death, timeline, life story and many other interesting facts about Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin Facts For Kids

1. Who Is Benjamin Franklin – What Was Ben Franklin

• Benjamin Franklin was an American author, printer, political theorist, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
• He was also one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

2. What Is Benjamin Franklin’s Full Name

• His full name was Benjamin Franklin.

What Is Benjamin Franklin’S Middle Name

• Franklin did not have a middle name.

3. How Tall Was Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin’S Height

• Benjamin Franklin was 1.75 meters (5 feet 9 inches) tall.

4. What Did Benjamin Franklin Do

• Being a scientist, he played a major role in the history of physics as well as the American Enlightenment, due to his theories about electricity.
• In his early life, he worked as a printer for leading newspapers in America.
• He was also an inventor, and some of his inventions are the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove.
• He had many professions and he did a lot of work; as a journalist, author, polymath, diplomat, musician, philosopher, statesperson, librarian, book editor, political activist, printer, and satirist.

5. What Is Benjamin Franklin Famous For

• At first, he became famous among scientists for his discoveries about electricity.
• He also wrote The Poor Richard’s Almanack, a highly well-liked publication, adding up to his fame.
• Later, he helped in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, and people began recognizing him as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.

6. Why Is Benjamin Franklin Important

• Benjamin was important for many reasons, including his books, his contributions to physics, and many more.
• However, his most significant achievement was his participation in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
• Later, he was also sent to France to procure the aid of the French in the Revolutionary War.

7. Was Ben Franklin A President Of The United States – Benjamin Franklin President

• Even though Benjamin Franklin helped in composing the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, he was never elected as president.

What Number President Was Benjamin Franklin

• Ben Franklin may be one of the Founding Fathers, but he was never made president.

8. What State Did Benjamin Franklin Represent

• Benjamin Franklin went to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 as a delegate of Pennsylvania.

9. What Did Benjamin Franklin Do For America

• Benjamin Franklin played a highly significant role in the founding of the United States. He served in the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolution.
• He helped plan the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
• He was also a very influential person, having written popular books and being responsible for inventions like Franklin’s stove. His involvement in the movement for American independence helped it gain more traction.
• Along with that, he was the major reason why the French aided American colonists in the Revolutionary War; a battle which the British would have won if not for the support by the French.

10. When Was Benjamin Franklin Born – Benjamin Franklin’s Birthday

• Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.

11. Where Was Benjamin Franklin Born – Benjamin Franklin’s Birthplace

• He was born in Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

12. Where Is Benjamin Franklin From – Benjamin Franklin Hometown

• Ben Franklin’s hometown is Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

13. Where Did Benjamin Franklin Live

• Franklin was born in the American city of Boston, Massachusetts, and lived there until 1723.
• When he was 18 years old, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
• He lived there for 54 years before moving to Paris, France, and lived there until he was 79 years of age.
• He then moved back to Philadelphia, where he died in 1790.

14. What Nationality Was Benjamin Franklin – Nationality Of Benjamin Franklin

• Benjamin Franklin was English from his father’s side and American from his mother’s side, but he spent most of his life in America.

15. Benjamin Franklin Country Of Origin

• Ben Franklin may have British roots from his father’s side, but he was born and raised in America.

16. Benjamin Franklin Background

• Franklin’s father worked as a tallow chandler, soaper, and candlemaker.
• Therefore, he belonged to a very poor family, and could not get formal education after he reached 10 years of age.

17. Benjamin Franklin Childhood Facts – Benjamin Franklin Early Life

• Benjamin Franklin was the eighth of ten children.
• His formal education ended when he was 10 years old, but he was a keen reader and soon became a very skillful writer.
• At the age of 12, he started helping his elder brother James, a printer in Boston.
• By the age of 16, he even started writing essays under the pseudonym Silence Dogood for a newspaper run by James.
• When he was 17 years old, he fled from his job as James’ apprentice and found work as a printer in Philadelphia.
• A year later, he went to London, England, and became employed there in the printing business.

18. Benjamin Franklin Adulthood – Benjamin Franklin Adult Life

• At age 20, he returned to Philadelphia and started a printing business which became highly successful and he soon became wealthy.
• Three years later, he owned and published the Pennsylvania Gazette an important newspaper for which he wrote most of the content, using pseudonyms.
• His writing skills gained even more fame because of his book series The Poor Richard’s Almanack. This almanac, published annually from 1733 to 1758, became known for its clever sayings.
• He started living with Deborah Read, the daughter of his former Philadelphia landlady, as his common-law wife, in 1730.
• Franklin and Read had a son named Francis, who died of smallpox when he was 4 years old.
• They also had a daughter named Sarah.
• Ben Franklin established many community societies in Philadelphia, such as a library, the first fire company of the city, the American Philosophical Society, and a police patrol.
• He also set up the Pennsylvania militia, gathered enough money to build a hospital, and made a plan through which the city’s streets would be lighted and paved. Moreover, he played a vital role in the foundation of the Academy of Philadelphia in 1751, a renowned college that later became known as the University of Pennsylvania.

19. What Religion Was Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin Religion

• Benjamin Franklin was born into a Puritan home in Boston.
• His father, Josiah, raised him on the principles of New England Calvinism.

20. Benjamin Franklin Ethnicity

• Ben Franklin’s ancestors from his father’s side were English. His mother was also born British, but she and her family escaped to Massachusetts for religious freedom.

21. Benjamin Franklin’s Education:

What Was Benjamin Franklin’S Education – Benjamin Franklin Education

• Franklin only got formal education for two years, before he began participating in the family’s candle and soap-making business.

Where Did Benjamin Franklin Go To School – What School Did Benjamin Franklin Go To

• Benjamin Franklin went to the Boston Latin School in Boston, Massachusetts from age 8 to age 10.

What College Did Benjamin Franklin Go To – Benjamin Franklin College

• After he stopped going to Boston Latin School, he continued his education through reading and did not attend any college.

What Did Benjamin Franklin Study – Benjamin Franklin Studies

• The school that Franklin attended gave education in humanities, but after he left it, he did not formally study any other subjects.

21. Who Influenced Benjamin Franklin

• Benjamin Franklin’s work proves that he was influenced by Voltaire, David Hume, Cotton Mather, and Emer de Vattel.

22. Benjamin Franklin American Revolution

• Benjamin Franklin was important for the American Revolution because he was part of the five-member group that planned the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
• Later in the same year, Franklin went to France to recruit the country’s help in the Revolutionary War.

23. What Did Benjamin Franklin Do In The Revolutionary War

• Franklin’s role in the Revolutionary War was that of a representative of America, who went to France to confirm that they accept France’s support for America in the Revolutionary War.

24. Benjamin Franklin Role In The American Revolution

• Ben Franklin’s role in the American Revolution was very significant.
• He invited delegates from several colonies in 1754 and set out his Albany Plan. This plan proposed that all the colonies unite under one national body, and even though this plan was rejected, it became the basis of the first constitution of the United States.
• He was one of the people who drew up the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
• In 1783, he helped outline the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War.

25. Benjamin Franklin Revolutionary War Facts

• Historians claim that Ben Franklin played a pivotal role in the victory of America in the Revolutionary War.
• His success in acquiring military aid from France was the most important reason why the American colonies were able to lead such a successful uprising against the British.

26. Benjamin Franklin Declaration Of Independence

• In 1776, a group of seven important men (representing five different states) was put together to draft the Declaration of Independence, the signing of which will free America from British rule.
• These five people were Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, Robert R. Livingston of New York, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and John Adams of Massachusetts.

27. Why Did Benjamin Franklin Go To London – Benjamin Franklin London

• The first time Franklin went to London, England was at the age of 18 years because the Royal Governor of Pennsylvania had promised to pay for the printing equipment Benjamin would need for opening a printing shop in the city.
• However, the governor Sir William Keith did not keep his promise and left Franklin stranded in the city.
• He was then employed by famous London printers like Samuel Palmer and James Watts until he had gathered enough money for the trip back to Philadelphia.
• He visited London once again in 1757. He was sent there by the colonists in Pennsylvania, and his goal was to persuade King George II to end the Penn family’s right to control the state. In the end, he was unsuccessful.
• Franklin was yet again chosen in 1764 to present the distaste of the colonists for policies like the Sugar Act and the Stamp Act to King George III.
• This time he stayed for eleven years, and gradually also became the representative of the colonies in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Georgia.
• However, King George and Parliament continued to deny the demands of the American colonists to basic rights on taxation and legislature.
• Ben Franklin had no luck in getting the British to change their mind, and so returned to Philadelphia in 1775.

28. What Did Benjamin Franklin Do For A Living – What Was Benjamin Franklin’s Occupation

• Benjamin Franklin was:
  • an inventor
  • author
  • polymath
  • diplomat
  • journalist
  • musician
  • philosopher
  • statesperson
  • librarian
  • book editor
  • political activist
  • printer
  • satirist.

29. Where Did Benjamin Franklin Do His Work

• Benjamin Franklin did most of his early work as a printer, author, librarian, and political activist and made most of his scientific discoveries in Philadelphia.
• For his missions as a diplomat, he was sent abroad three times to England.

30. What Were Benjamin Franklin’s Accomplishments – Benjamin Franklin Accomplishments

• The first political cartoon of the US ever published was Join, Or Die, the creation of Benjamin Franklin. This cartoon later became a unifying symbol for the colonists during the American Revolution.
• He wrote The Poor Richard’s Almanack, a book series that both made him famous and wealthy. It was even translated into Italian and Slovene.
• He also invented the lightning rod, which saved many lives by protecting buildings from lightning. He discovered that lightning is electricity itself, and coined the common terms used when talking about electricity today.
• He invented bifocal lenses, helping many people with poor ocular health read. More of his inventions was the long arm, the glass armonica, the flexible urinary catheter, and the Franklin stove.
• The Stamp Act of 1765 caused widespread resentment in America. Franklin is the one who presented this concern in the British Parliament until it was eventually repealed in 1766. This caused the colonists of America to look up to him as a hero.
• In 1775, the Pennsylvania assembly elected Benjamin Franklin to attend the Second Continental Congress, where he became part of the five-member committee which was put together to draft the Declaration of Independence.
• He played a pivotal role in establishing good relations between America and France and obtained the French military aid which was crucial for the victory of the colonists in the Revolutionary War.
• He was the first Postmaster General of the United States, and he established the system of postal service which is followed to this day.
• He was one of the founders of the University of Pennsylvania.
• He helped in the development of demography, which was an emerging science at the time.

31. Benjamin Franklin Contribution To Science

• He is responsible for many inventions like bifocal lenses, Franklin’s stove, the long arm, and many others.
• More importantly, he made huge contributions to our knowledge of electricity. He came up with numerous scientific terms we use today, including the words “positively”, “negatively”, “battery” and “conductor”.
• He was the first one to discover that electricity is made up of a “common element”, it is fluid and cannot be destroyed; contrary to the belief at the time that electricity consists of two opposing forces.
• Franklin’s work helped to develop the Single Fluid Theory, which states that electricity travels from a body carrying a positive charge to one that carries a negative charge.
• He is also famous for his Kite Experiment. He flew a kite during a thunderstorm and received an electric shock, proving that lightning is a heavily charged spark of electricity.
• He was also the one who suggested that the Northern Lights are the result of the intensification of electrical charges in the North Pole by moisture and snow. Light is caused by the release of electrical power.
• Franklin observed lead poison too because the hands of people in the printing business who handled lead were often sore.
• Along with that, he proved that colds can be transferred from person to person through physical contact.
• Moreover, he made important discoveries regarding the movement of storms.

32. What Did Benjamin Franklin Achieve – Benjamin Franklin Achievements

• He was the creator of the political cartoon Join, Or Die, which united all the colonists during the American Revolution.
• He is the author of The Poor Richard’s Almanack, an important piece of English literature.
• He is the inventor of the lightning rod, which is now highly crucial for the protection of buildings from thunder.
• Bifocal lenses were also his creation, helping many people with poor eyesight read.
• He became the voice of the American colonists in the British Parliament after getting the Stamp Act repealed in 1766.
• He helped draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
• He was the one who managed to persuade the French to provide military aid to the colonists during the Revolutionary War.
• He started the postal system that is used to this day.
• He helped create the University of Pennsylvania.
• His work was important in the advancement of demography.

33. What Did Benjamin Franklin Invent – Benjamin Franklin Inventions List

• Benjamin Franklin’s inventions were:
  • Bifocal lenses
  • The long arm
  • The Franklin stove
  • The glass harmonica
  • The lightning rod
  • Hand paddles
  • Swim fins
  • Flexible catheter

What Was Benjamin Franklin’S First Invention – Benjamin Franklin First Invention

• Ben Franklin’s first invention was the swim fins.
• He made them out of wooden planks when he was 11 years old, to help him swim.

34. What Did Benjamin Franklin Discover – Benjamin Franklin Discoveries

• Ben Franklin was one of the first people who discovered that lightning is electricity.
• Through his kite experiment, he discovered positive and negative charges.
• He drew the first-ever map of the Gulf Stream during a trip to England.
• He also suggested that the Northern Lights also had to do with charged particles in the atmosphere.
• Furthermore, he found out that storms are capable of moving against the wind.

35. Did Ben Franklin Invent Electricity – Benjamin Franklin Electricity Facts

• Franklin was one of the first European scientists who carried out experiments and proved that electricity and lightning are the same things.
• He then invented the lightning rod. The rod is made of an electrical conductor, which transmits the electrical current to the ground safely without letting the building get shocked.

When Did Ben Franklin Discover Electricity

• In 1752, Franklin carried out the kite experiment which is responsible for his discovery of electricity.

How Did Benjamin Franklin Discover Electricity

• To prove that lightning is electricity, he conducted an experiment in 1752 in which he flew a kite during a thunderstorm with a key attached to the string to conduct electricity.

36. Benjamin Franklin Lightning Rod Facts

• Franklin had observed in his laboratory that an iron needle can lead electricity away from a charged metal sphere.
• After finding out that lightning is also electricity, Franklin wondered if this characteristic could be used to keep buildings safe during thunderstorms.
• He ended up inventing the lightning rod, which conducts electricity to the ground without letting it affect the building.
• Many people in America began using this rod shortly after he came up with the idea, and found it very useful.

37. Benjamin Franklin’s Family – Benjamin Franklin Family Information

• Benjamin Franklin was British from his father’s side.
• His mother also originated from Britain but moved to Massachusetts later.

Benjamin Franklin Family History

• Ben Franklin’s mother was from a Puritan family in England who traveled to Massachusetts to escape from the oppression of King Charles I.
• His father was also English, but he immigrated to Boston in 1683 and married Benjamin Franklin’s mother there.

Benjamin Franklin Family Members

• His family members were:
  • Josiah Franklin
  • Abiah Folger
  • Jane Mecom
  • James Franklin
  • Ebenezer Franklin
  • Elizabeth Douse
  • Josiah Franklin Jr.
  • Joseph Franklin I
  • Mary Holmes
  • Lydia Scott
  • Samuel Franklin
  • Thomas Franklin
  • Hannah Cole
  • Anne Harris
  • John Franklin
  • Joseph Franklin II
  • Sarah Davenport
  • Peter Franklin
  • Deborah Read
  • Sarah Franklin Bache
  • William Franklin
  • Francis Folger Franklin
  • Heartman Bache
  • Benjamin Franklin Bache
  • William Temple Franklin
  • Alexander Dallas Bache
  • Louis Franklin Bache
  • Eliza Franklin Bache
  • Mary Morrel Folger
  • Richard Bache Jr.
  • Theodore Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Parents

• Ben Franklin’s mother, Abiah Folger, belonged to an English Puritan family. When King Charles I started persecuting Puritans, Abiah’s father led his family to religious freedom and traveled to Massachusetts. That is where Abiah was born.
• His father, Josiah Franklin, was a soap and candle maker in England. He immigrated to Boston in 1683 with his first wife, Anne Child, but after she died, he married Abiah Folger.

How Many Siblings Did Benjamin Franklin Have – Benjamin Franklin Siblings

• Benjamin Franklin had a total of sixteen siblings.

How Many Sisters Did Benjamin Franklin Have

• Out of his sixteen siblings, seven were sisters.

Was Benjamin Franklin Married – Who Was Benjamin Franklin’S Wife

• Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read in 1730.

How Many Children Did Benjamin Franklin Have – Benjamin Franklin Children

• He had three children; William Franklin, Sarah Franklin Bache, and Francis Folger Franklin.

38. Benjamin Franklin’s Family Life

• Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read in 1730, who proved to be helpful for him in his printing shop.
• Their first child was Francis Folger Franklin, born in 1732. However, he died of smallpox at the age of 4 years, as a result of not being inoculated.
• Ben Franklin expressed his regret for not getting his son inoculated in his autobiography.
• Sarah Franklin, their second child, was born in 1743, long after Francis’ death.

39. Benjamin Franklin Family Today

• His son, William Franklin, traveled to London shortly before the Revolutionary War and had a son, William Temple Franklin.
• There are five documented children of William Temple Franklin, but no further known descendants.

40. Benjamin Franklin Personal Life

• Franklin had been a keen learner since he was a child.
• During his only two years of formal education, he proved to be an excellent student.
• Even after he stopped going to school, he saved every penny he had to buy books. He even became a vegetarian because he wanted to spend money on books instead of meat.
• All the reading helped improve his writing style, which helped during his apprenticeship with his brother James.
• Franklin’s father wanted him to inherit the candle-making business when he dies, but Benjamin wanted to be a sailor. To stop him from doing so, he was made to help James in his printing shop.
• However, he often received beatings as an apprentice and was not properly credited for all the work he did. Out of frustration, he fled to Philadelphia.
• There, he was employed by Samuel Keimer and lived in the house of John Read.
• He eventually met Sir William Keith, the Governor of Pennsylvania. The governor liked Franklin’s company and offered him a business in the government if he opens his printing shop.
• He would have set up a shop like the governor, but his father did not give him a loan to do so because he was too young to be trusted with a large amount of money.
• Therefore, he continued to work for Samuel Keith.

41. What Were Benjamin Franklin’s Interests – Benjamin Franklin Interests

• Ben Franklin loved to read. He would borrow books at times and loved them so much that he would save up all of his money to buy books.
• Franklin read so much that he taught himself to write and soon became skillful at it, to the point that it turned from his hobby to his job as an apprentice of his brother, James.
• However, he did not want his brother to find out that he was the one who wrote such witty letters for the newspaper, so he wrote them under the pseudonym “Silence Dogood”.
• He had also been swimming since a very young age and loved it so much that he invented swim fins to make swimming easier.
• He even used to swim in the River Thames during his trips to London.
• Also, Franklin greatly loved science. Once, he even rode on his horse and followed three-quarters of a storm to prove that a storm can go against the direction of the wind.

42. How Old Is Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin Age

• Benjamin Franklin was 84 years old when he died and would be 313 years old today.

43. When Did Benjamin Franklin Died – Benjamin Franklin Date Of Death

• He died on April 17, 1790.

44. Where Did Benjamin Franklin Die – Benjamin Franklin Death Place

• He died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

45. How Did Benjamin Franklin Die – Benjamin Franklin Cause Of Death

• Franklin died of Pleurisy, which he had been suffering from earlier in his life as well.

46. Benjamin Franklin Timeline

47. The History Of Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin Life History

• Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an American inventor, scientist, politician, printer, author, journalist, diplomat, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
• Although he had only two years of formal education, he was a very skilled writer who began contributing content to a newspaper run by his elder brother in Boston when he was a teenager.
• Soon, he traveled to Philadelphia and began working for a printer there. That is the same city where he met his wife, Deborah Read.
• He became a successful printer and even opened a bookstore, gaining wealth. His book series The Poor Richard’s Almanack brought him more fame.
• Gradually, he also gained interest in science and invented bifocals, glass armonica, and Franklin stove.
• He also did a lot of research on electricity, and after conducting a few experiments, proved that lightning is electricity. He ended up creating the lightning rod, saving many lives while making valuable contributions to science as well.
• He first became involved in politics when he went to London to convince the king of England to end the control that the Penn family has over Pennsylvania.
• At first, he wanted to be a loyal Englishman, but he soon made a plan for all the colonies to be together and started working for it.
• He became an important spokesperson for the colonists when he successfully got the Stamp Act repealed in 1766.
• After struggling for more years, he became part of the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. A new nation came into being.
• He also played a major role in the signing of the Treaty of Paris. He died in Philadelphia in 1790.

48. The Life Of Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin Life Story

• Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706, was an American printer, inventor, scientist, politician, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
• He studied at school only for two years, as his father could not afford any further education, but he read so many books that he taught himself to become a skillful writer.
• He started helping his brother James out at his printing shop as an apprentice and even wrote for the newspaper James ran.
• At 17 years of age, he went to Philadelphia and started working for a printer in that city.
• He soon married Deborah Read and they both began working successfully not only at Franklin’s printing shop but also at a bookstore they opened. Franklin became wealthy.
• He gained recognition for his writing skills on a larger scale when he started publishing his book series The Poor Richard’s Almanack.
• He was also interested in science, and this passion led him to invent various things like bifocal lenses and Franklin’s stove.
• He also began conducting experiments regarding electricity, a subject about which not much was known. His discoveries helped him come up with the idea of the lightning rod, which helped save many buildings from getting destroyed after being struck by lightning.
• His participation in politics began when he went on a trip to England to persuade King George II to take away the power that the Penn family was given over Pennsylvania.
• He wanted to live in England at first and stay faithful to the English, but he eventually became an active supporter of the idea that all the colonies in America should unite.
• He was especially respected for the time when he went to London in 1766 and successfully got the controversial Stamp Act repealed.
• In 1776, he was part of the firm set up to draft the Declaration of Independence and he became one of the reasons why the United States of America came into being.
• He was also significant for the signing of the Treaty of Paris. In 1790, he died in Philadelphia.

49. Benjamin Franklin Important Events

• The important events of Benjamin Franklin’s life were:
  • Birth of Benjamin Franklin (1706)
  • Apprenticeship with brother James (1718
  • Escape from apprenticeship to Philadelphia (1723)
  • Travel to London after offering of help from Governor of Pennsylvania (1724)
  • Marriage to Deborah Read (1730)
  • Birth of son Francis (1732)
  • Publication of the first edition of The Poor Richard’s Almanack (1732)
  • Death of Francis by smallpox (1736)
  • Birth of daughter Sarah (1743)
  • Kite experiment (1752)
  • Stamp Act gets repealed (1766)
  • Death of Deborah Read (1774)
  • Drafting of the Declaration of Independence (1776)
  • The signing of the French Alliance (1778)
  • The signing of Peace Treaty with England (1783-84)
  • The signing of US Constitution (1787)
  • Death in Philadelphia (1790)

50. Benjamin Franklin Summary

• Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, the United States of America to a candle and soap maker.
• He had only two years of formal education but was an intelligent child who taught himself to write well.
• He was taken into apprenticeship by his brother James and wrote content for a newspaper run by him, before traveling to Philadelphia and finding work at a printing shop there.
• Soon, he married Deborah Read and both of them worked together, becoming wealthy.
• He also gained interest in science, making important discoveries about electricity that were not known before, and invented the lightning rod, which saved many buildings from catching fire during thunderstorms.
• As a political activist, his main accomplishment was the drafting of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, with which he became one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.
• In 1790, he died in Philadelphia.

51. Interesting Facts About Benjamin Franklin

• Ben Franklin was mostly self-taught, and only attended school for two years because his father could not afford to give him further schooling. Despite his incomplete formal education, he later rose to be one of the most brilliant Americans of his time.
• While working as an apprentice for his brother, Benjamin wrote witty letters under the fictitious identity of Silence Dogood, a widow living in Boston. ‘Her’ letters were published in the newspaper his brother ran, and gained so much attention that the imaginary character Silence Dogood even got several marriage proposals from bachelors in Boston.
• The methods of increasing money supply for a more efficient economy endorsed by Benjamin Franklin are still used in the US Federal Reserve as well as central banks worldwide.
• He designed an instrument called the glass armonica, and it was so well-liked that even musicians like Mozart and Beethoven made music for it.
• Along with inventing the lightning rod, he had always had an urge to help people. He created the first-ever fire department of America, which became known as ‘Benjamin Franklin’s Bucket Brigade’.
• Franklin was such a risky inventor that he almost died twice while experimenting with electricity; once when he tried to kill a turkey by shocking it, and another time when attempted to cure a man of his paralysis through electricity.
• He was the only Founding Father who signed all four documents that led to the creation of the United States; the United States Constitution, the treaty of peace with Great Britain, the Declaration of Independence, and the French Alliance.
• He was a very skilled chess player.
• He loved tea very much, and he did not approve of the measures taken during the Boston Tea Party.
• He taught himself to speak French, Spanish, Italian and Latin.
• For a short period in his early life, he even became a vegetarian because he wanted to save money for books.
• The French National Assembly announced a day of mourning when Franklin died.

52. How Many Books Did Benjamin Franklin Wrote – Benjamin Franklin Writings

• Benjamin Franklin wrote a total of sixteen books recognized today. Some of which are:
  • The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
  • The Art of Virtue
  • Poor Richard’s Almanack
  • The Way to Wealth
  • A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain
  • Experiments and Observations on Electricity
  • Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc.

53. Benjamin Franklin Books For Kids

• Some publications for children regarding Benjamin Franklin are:
  • Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta
  • What’s The Big Idea, Ben Franklin? By Jean Fritz
  • Ben & Me by Robert Lawson
  • John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith
  • Benjamin Franklin’s Big Splash: The Mostly True Story of His First Invention by Barb Rosenstock

54. Benjamin Franklin Biography For Kids

• A published biography of Benjamin Franklin for kids is Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents by Time For Kids Biographies.

55. Benjamin Franklin Newspaper

• During his apprenticeship with his elder brother, he helped print copies of The New England Courant.
• After moving to Philadelphia, he purchased The Pennsylvania Gazette from Samuel Keimer.