Benjamin Franklin, American Genius: His Life and Ideas with 21 Activities
TIME LINE 1706 Franklin born in Boston Massachusetts on January 17 1718 Begins an apprenticeship in his brother's printing shop 1723 Runs away to Philadelphia 1724 Moves to London and continues his training as a printer 1726 Founds the Leather Apron Club later known as the Junto 1727 Returns to Philadelphia 1728 Opens his own printing shop in Philadelphia 1729 Becomes publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette 1730 Married by common law Deborah Read 1731 Founds the first circulating library 1732 Begins publishing Poor Richard An Almanack 1736 Founds the Union Fire Company 1743 Birth of his daughter Sarah Sally 1748 Retires from business 1751 His book Experiments and Observations on Electricity is published in London Founds the Pennsylvania Acad emy later known as the University of Pennsylvania 1752 Famous kite experiment proves lightning is electricity 1757 In London as agent for the colony of Pennsylvania 62 1762 Returns to Philadelphia 1764 Back in London 1774 The Hutchinson Letters Affair damages Franklin's rep utation 1775 Back in Philadelphia serves in Second Continental Congress 1776 Signs the Declaration of Independence Serves as presi dent of Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention Becomes American commissioner to France 1778 Negotiates Treaty of Alliance with France Appointed sole minister plenipotentiary to France
1782 Helps negotiate Treaty of Peace with Great Britain final treaty signed September 1783 1783 Witnesses the first hot air balloon flights in Paris 1785 Returns to Philadelphia 1787 Elected president of the Pennsylvania Society for Pro moting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage Serves as a dele gate to the Constitutional Convention 1790 Dies on April 17 at age 84
NOTE TO READERS A MANY OF Benjamin Franklin's writings have sur vived over 200 years When you read Franklin s origi nal words you'll notice that spelling grammar and punctuation have often changed over the centuries Also sometimes words were capitalized in the mid dle of a sentence this was common and proper in writings from the
Preface THE RUNAWAY A ONE DAY he'd be a famous man in Philadelphia in America and across the sea in Europe But on a Sunday morning in early October 1723 the 17 year old was simply running away from his home in Bos ton He climbed out of a boat onto Philadelphia's Market Street Wharf exhausted his stomach growl ing with hunger his plain working clothes grimy from the trip The few coins in his pocket weighed almost nothing He knew not a soul in Philadelphia Where should he even look for a place to sleep that night He wandered up Market Street gazing all about him At a bakery he handed over a precious coin for three puffy golden rolls With the extra rolls stuffed one under each arm he munched his way up the street His coat pockets bulged with some additional shirts and stockings stuffed inside He noted a girl standing in a doorway who seemed to think his appearance perfectly ridiculous He wandered down Chestnut Street and turned onto Walnut all the while stuffing down his bread But his wandering only brought him in a great circle back to the river There he handed his extra rolls to a mother and child he'd met on the
