Benjamin Franklin
1706 - 1790
Benjamin Franklin, also called Ben Franklin, pseudonym Richard Saunders was an American printer and publisher, author, inventor and scientist, and diplomat and one of the foremost of the Founding Fathers.
1706 Born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17
circa 1717 Invents swimming fins
1718 Begins apprenticeship in his brother James' printing shop in Boston
1722 Silence Dogood letters
1723 Age 17, leaves his family, running away to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1724 Moves to London, continuing his training as a printer
1726 Returns to Philadelphia.; self-improvement plan
1727 Junto formed
1728 Opens his own printing office in Philadelphia
1730 Becomes sole owner and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette; marries Deborah Read
1731 son William born; founds the first Circulating Library
1732 son Francis born
1732 Poor Richard's Almanack
1736 son Francis dies; establishes the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia
1737 Postmaster of Philadelphia
1740 official printer for New Jersey
1742 Proposes the idea for the University of Pennsylvania
1743 daughter Sarah born (also known as "Sally"); observers movement of storms; Pennsylvania Academy and College
1744 Pennsylvania fireplace
1745 father, Josiah Franklin, dies
1747 first writings of electrical experimentation; organizes militia
1748 sells printing office, retiring from business; buys farm
1750 lightning rod
1751 Experiments and Observations on Electricity published in London
1752 famous kite experiment; death of mother, Abiah Folger Franklin; founds first American fire insurance company
1753 Awarded Copley Medal; appointed Deputy Postmaster General
1754 "Join or Die" cartoon; Albany Plan
1755 Pennsylvania Hospital founded
1757 agent in London for the Pennsylvania Assembly
1758 Way to Wealth published
1762 glass armonica; returns to Philadelphia
1764 Travels to London as agent
1767 Travels to France
1769 Elected president of the American Philosophical Society
1774 The Hutchinson Letters Affair damages Franklin's reputation; his wife's death; Privy Council hearings
1775 Returns to Philadelphia; elected to Continental Congress; submits Articles of Confederation of United Colonies
1776 Signs the Declaration of Independence; presides at Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention; sails to France as American Commissioner
1778 Negotiates and signs Treaty of Alliance with France
1779 Appointed Minister to France
1782 with John Adams and John Jay, negotiates peace with Great Britain
1783 Treaty of Paris; watches the Montgolfier brothers fly in a balloon
1784 invention of bifocals; debunks Mesmer; negotiates treaties with Prussia and other European countries
1785 Returns to Philadelphia
1787 president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery; delegate to the Constitutional Convention
1790 Dies in Philadelphia on April 17 at age 84.
1706 Born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17
circa 1717 Invents swimming fins
1718 Begins apprenticeship in his brother James' printing shop in Boston
1722 Silence Dogood letters
1723 Age 17, leaves his family, running away to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1724 Moves to London, continuing his training as a printer
1726 Returns to Philadelphia.; self-improvement plan
1727 Junto formed
1728 Opens his own printing office in Philadelphia
1730 Becomes sole owner and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette; marries Deborah Read
1731 son William born; founds the first Circulating Library
1732 son Francis born
1732 Poor Richard's Almanack
1736 son Francis dies; establishes the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia
1737 Postmaster of Philadelphia
1740 official printer for New Jersey
1742 Proposes the idea for the University of Pennsylvania
1743 daughter Sarah born (also known as "Sally"); observers movement of storms; Pennsylvania Academy and College
1744 Pennsylvania fireplace
1745 father, Josiah Franklin, dies
1747 first writings of electrical experimentation; organizes militia
1748 sells printing office, retiring from business; buys farm
1750 lightning rod
1751 Experiments and Observations on Electricity published in London
1752 famous kite experiment; death of mother, Abiah Folger Franklin; founds first American fire insurance company
1753 Awarded Copley Medal; appointed Deputy Postmaster General
1754 "Join or Die" cartoon; Albany Plan
1755 Pennsylvania Hospital founded
1757 agent in London for the Pennsylvania Assembly
1758 Way to Wealth published
1762 glass armonica; returns to Philadelphia
1764 Travels to London as agent
1767 Travels to France
1769 Elected president of the American Philosophical Society
1774 The Hutchinson Letters Affair damages Franklin's reputation; his wife's death; Privy Council hearings
1775 Returns to Philadelphia; elected to Continental Congress; submits Articles of Confederation of United Colonies
1776 Signs the Declaration of Independence; presides at Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention; sails to France as American Commissioner
1778 Negotiates and signs Treaty of Alliance with France
1779 Appointed Minister to France
1782 with John Adams and John Jay, negotiates peace with Great Britain
1783 Treaty of Paris; watches the Montgolfier brothers fly in a balloon
1784 invention of bifocals; debunks Mesmer; negotiates treaties with Prussia and other European countries
1785 Returns to Philadelphia
1787 president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery; delegate to the Constitutional Convention
1790 Dies in Philadelphia on April 17 at age 84.
(Courtesy of "Benjamin Franklin," PBS, http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/ (accesed 09/24/2014)
"Benjamin Franklin." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 26 Sep. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/217331/Benjamin-Franklin>.