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Benjamin Franklin - Biography of a Scientist

Table of Contents
Ben Franklin’s Background History 2
Early in His Life 2
Later Life and Death 3

Accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin 4

Was In The Committee Of Five That Drafted The U.S. Declaration Of Independence 4
Played A Prominent Role in Getting Crucial French Assistance For The Revolution 4
Was The First United States Postmaster General 5
Was Instrumental In Establishment Of The University Of Pennsylvania 6
The Only President Who Was Never President 6

Scientific Observations and Discoveries 7

Positive and Negative Electric Charges 7
Mapping the Gulf Stream 7
Meteorology 8
Common cold 8
Lead Poisoning 8

Ben Franklin’s Scientific Contribution and Impact on Science Today 9

Lightning Rod 9
Urinary Catheter 9
Bifocals 10
Swim Fins 10
Franklin’s Stove 10

Bibliography 11
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Ben Franklin’s Background History

Early in His Life

Ben Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. His father, Josiah

Franklin, was a chandler who made candles and soap. Ben had sixteen brothers and sisters and

was the youngest boy in the family. At the age of 10 he was forced to leave school in order to

work with his dad. A few years later he became a printer's pupil for his brother James (Quick

Biography of Benjamin Franklin).

In 1730 he took Deborah Read as his common-law wife. Around that time, Franklin

fathered a son, William, out of wedlock and the infant was taken in by the couple. The pair’s first

son, Francis, was born in 1732, but he died four years later of smallpox. The couple’s only

daughter, Sarah, was born in 1743. Deborah passed away in 1774 from a stroke at the age of 66

(Quick Biography of Benjamin Franklin).

In 1729, Franklin became the publisher of a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette.

As a newspaper publisher, Franklin became a prominent voice in Pennsylvania politics and his

reputation began to grow throughout the American colonies. Later, he represented all of the

American colonies. Politics became more of an active interest for Franklin in the 1750s

(Biography).

In 1776, Ben Franklin traveled to France. He spent the next few years gathering support

in France for the American Revolution. The French loved Franklin. Partly because of Franklin's

popularity, the Government of France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778.

France allied with the colonies in their fight against England. The alliance with France would
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prove to be one of the most important factors in the American victory. Franklin remained in

France throughout the war (Quick Biography of Benjamin Franklin).

Later Life and Death

Franklin returned from France to the United States in 1785. He participated in the

Constitutional Convention and became the only founding father to sign the Declaration of

Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. He

also served as the President of Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the home of his daughter, Sarah Bache (Benjamin Franklin).

Franklin was 84 when he died from pleurisy, a disease which causes the membrane around

the lungs to be inflamed, causing sharp chest pain which worsens during breathing. Before

pleurisy, he suffered from gout or uric acid arthritis and some minor pains and illnesses along with

obesity. He is still remembered today for his great achievements and inventions that impact science

(Benjamin Franklin).
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Accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin had a lot of accomplishments which are still
commemorated today.

Was in The Committee of Five That Drafted the U.S. Declaration of Independence

The American Revolution had begun by the time Franklin returned to America from

Europe in 1775. Benjamin Franklin was elected by the Pennsylvania Assembly as their agent to

the Second Continental Congress, which was a convention of representatives from the Thirteen

Colonies to manage their war efforts against Britain. It decided to issue a declaration of

independence and Franklin was one of the five members who were appointed to draft it

(Anirudh).

The Committee of Five presenting their work to the Congress on June 28, 1776

Played A Prominent Role in Getting Crucial French Assistance for The Revolution

In December 1776, Franklin was sent to France as the first U.S. Ambassador and played a

prominent role in the development of positive relations between America and France. Franklin
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was one of the representatives from U.S. who signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which brought

the war to an end and made Britain see U.S. colonies as free and independent states (Anirudh).

Franco-American Treaty of Alliance

signed in 1778 during the American
Revolution

Was The First United States Postmaster General

Franklin was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia by the British Crown Post in 1737.

His effective measures led to the first profits for the colonial post office. In 1775, when the

Second Continental Congress established the United States Post Office, Franklin was made its

postmaster general. The postal system that was established continues to this day (Anirudh).

Benjamin Franklin on the First US

postage stamp Issue of 1847
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Was Instrumental in Establishment of the University of Pennsylvania

Franklin was the primary founder of the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin was also

one of the founders of The American Philosophical Society and was elected its first president. In

independent America, Franklin served as the sixth Governor of Pennsylvania from 1785 to 1788

(Anirudh).

The Only President Who Was Never President

Benjamin Franklin’s contribution in America gaining independence is considered second

to that of George Washington. He is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the United States

due to his major influence in the early history of the nation. Because of his honour, Franklin’s

face appears on U.S. postage more than any other notable American except George Washington.

Due to his outstanding contribution towards his nation, Franklin is sometimes humorously

called “the only President of the United States who was never President of the United States”

(Anirudh).
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Scientific observations and discoveries

Benjamin Franklin didn’t just have many accomplishments - he also

made some discoveries.

Positive and Negative Electric Charges

Franklin discovered positive and negative electric charges by conducting experiments

with electricity using the Leyden jar. He proved his theory by performing his kite experiment

during a storm. When the stormed passed over his kite the negative charges passed into his kite,

to the key and to the Leyden jar. When he moved his hand near the key he received a shock

because the negative charge attracted the positive charge in his body. His discovery of positive

and negative electric charge led to the invention of batteries by Volta and the electric motor. This

experiment also proved that storm clouds are full of electric charges (Scientific observations and

discoveries).

Mapping the Gulf Stream

Franklin became interested in the North Atlantic Ocean circulation pattern while on a trip

to England. He knew that trips from America to England took an average of two weeks longer

than trips from England to America. The presence of the Gulf Stream had been known since
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Spanish sailors reached the Americas but it was not mapped until Franklin took interest in it.

Franklin’s cousin, Timothy Folger helped him record the stream. The map was published in 1786

with notes and observations (Scientific observations and discoveries).

Meteorology

On October 21, 1743, while Franklin was planning to observe a lunar eclipse in

Philadelphia, a storm moved in and covered the moon. He observed that the winds were moving

from the northeast. He gathering information and observed that storms have the ability to move

in the opposite direction of the wind. He explained this phenomenon by the existence of high and

low pressure. This was one of the first accurate explanations of movement of storms in the

Atlantic Northeast which assisted in predicting weather patterns (Scientific observations and

discoveries).

Common cold

Before the discovery of germs and viruses people believed that colds were caused by wet

clothing and dampness in the air. Franklin observed that sailors were usually wearing wet

clothing but did not catch colds. After years of observation he concluded that colds are passed

from people to people when they are in close contact such us in the same small room (Scientific

observations and discoveries).

Lead Poisoning

Benjamin Franklin observed from the printing business that people who handled warm

lead types suffered from sore hands with some of them lost movement of their hands. He was

one of the first to observe the link between lead and health issues (Scientific observations and

discoveries).
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Ben Franklin’s Scientific Contribution and

Impact on Science Today
Lightning Rod
Due to his inventions, Ben Franklin’s great works made life easier. His creation of the

lightning rod protected buildings from lightning during thunderstorms (buildings would not be

burned to the ground when stuck by lightening). He got the idea when he shocked himself during

his most famous notorious kite experiment. He turned his attention to the possibility of

protecting buildings and the people inside from lightning strikes. Franklin’s pointed lightning rod

design proved effective and soon topped buildings throughout the Colonies (Bellis). Franklin

also started the first fire company and street lighting company to ensure safety on the streets

(Alkhajah).

Franklin’s Lightning Rod

Urinary Catheter
Franklin was inspired to invent a better catheter in 1752 when he saw what his kidney (or

bladder) stone-stricken brother had to go through. Catheters at the time were simply rigid metal

tubes which were very uncomfortable. Franklin devised a better solution by making a flexible

catheter made of hinged segments of tubes. Catheters are still used today (Bellis).

Franklin’s Catheter
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Bifocals
Franklin found that his eyesight was getting worse as he got older and he grew both near-

sighted and far-sighted. Tired of switching between two pairs of eyeglasses, he invented “double

spectacles,” or what we now call bifocals. He had the lenses from his two pairs of glasses (one

for reading and one for distance) sliced in half horizontally and then remade into a single pair

with the lens for distance at the top and the one for reading at the bottom. Bifocals are common

today (Bellis).

Franklin’s Bifocals

Swim Fins

An avid swimmer, Franklin was just 11 years old when he invented swimming fins—two

oval pieces of wood that, when grasped in the hands, provided extra thrust through the water.

Swim fins are modernized today but are still an important part of swimming equipment (Bellis).

Franklin’s Swimming Fins

Franklin stove

In 1742, Franklin was fed up with the cold Pennsylvania winters and invented a better

way to heat rooms. The Franklin stove was a metal-lined fireplace designed to stand a few inches

away from the chimney. A hollow baffle at the rear let heat from the fire mix with the air more

quickly, and an inverted siphon helped to extract more heat. His invention also produced less

smoke than a traditional fireplace, making it that much more desirable (Bellis).

Franklin’s Stove

sSttove
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Bibliography

Alkhajah, A. (1970, January 01). Benjamin Franklin. Retrieved from

http://aishaalkhajah001b.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-does-benjamin-franklin-effect-us.html

Anirudh. (2018, September 12). Retrieved from https://learnodo-newtonic.com/benjamin-franklin-

accomplishments

Bellis, M. (n.d.). 6 of Ben Franklin's Top Inventions. Retrieved from

https://www.thoughtco.com/scientific-achievements-of-benjamin-franklin-1991821

Benjamin Franklin. (2017, August 02). Retrieved from

https://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234

Benjamin Franklin's Inventions. (2018, October 09). Retrieved from https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-

franklin/inventions

Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ducksters.com/biography/ben_franklin.php

Quick Biography of Benjamin Franklin. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/info/index.htm

Scientific observations and discoveries. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.benjamin-franklin-

history.org/scientific-observations-and-discoveries/