Benjamin Franklin
Dates and Places
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.
He died on April 17, 1790.
He was famous because he was an inventor, and because he was a statesman for the United States.
Ben had ten brothers and sisters. He was the eighth child.
Ben was very good at reading and writing, but he had a hard time with math.
Ben's older brother worked at a printing shop. Ben started working in his brother's printing shop as an assistant.
Ben published Poor Richard's Almanac. It had sayings and tips on things.
Ben is on the 100 dollar bill.
Ben went to Philadelphia and built the first public library. He also established the first fire department. He later went on to invent the lightning rod.
One time Ben did a experiment to see if lightning was electricity. He flew a kite on a stormy night and he had a key at the end of the kite. Lightning struck the kite and the electricity traveled down the kite. Ben touched the key and it shocked him. He was not hurt. He was the first person to prove that lightning was electricity.
Ben was chosen as a delegate to represent Pennsylvania in the Second Continental Congress. Ben was 70 years old. Ben was getting ill and old.
At his funeral more than 20,000 people came.
| Benjamin Franklin, Aquila Primary Center, www.slpschools.org, . |
| (The title, name of this web site, address of this web site and the date you used this web site.) |
Benjamin Franklin, http://www.ajkids.com, downloaded 2-2-2002.
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| Revised: 3-12-2002 | For information, contact John Dyer, Media Specialist, Aquila Primary Center. Copyright © 2001 John H. Dyer. Any use or redistribution of this information without permission is prohibited. |