Michael Hesleden - Benjamin Franklin: Writer, Inventor, and Diplomat

Published in 2016 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2016 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Photo Credits: Cover Photo Researchers/Science Source/Getty Images; p. 4 Kean Collection/Archive Photos/ Getty Images; pp. 5, 20 Universal Images Group/Getty Images; p. 7 Private Collection/Peter Newark American Pictures/Bridgeman Images; p. 8 North Wind Picture Archives; pp. 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 21 Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division; p. 12 Hulton Archive/Getty Images; p. 13 MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images; p. 14 Joseph Barnell/SuperStock; p. 15 Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images; p. 19 Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France/Bridgeman Images

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hesleden, Michael.

Benjamin Franklin : writer, inventor, and diplomat / Michael Hesleden. -- First edition.

pages cm. -- (Spotlight on American history)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4994-1784-5 (library bound) -- ISBN 978-1-4994-1782-1 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-4994-1781-4 (6-pack)

1. Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790--Juvenile literature. 2. Statesmen--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. 3. Scientists--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. 4. Inventors--United States--Biography-- Juvenile literature. 5. Printers--United States--Biography--Juvenile literature. I. Title.

E302.6.F8H47 2015

973.3092--dc23

[B]

2015018929

Manufactured in the United States of America

CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #WS15PK: For Further Information contact Rosen Publishing, New York, New York at 1-800-237-9932

CONTENTS

BENS EARLY LIFE

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. At that time, Massachusetts was a British colony. Bens father, Josiah Franklin, had 17 children. Ben was the tenth son of his fathers second wife.

Ben grew up working in his fathers candle and soap shop. When he was 10 years old, he finished school. He continued his education on his own by reading everything he could.

This engraving shows the house on Milk Street in Boston where Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706.

This illustration shows what Benjamin Franklin looked like as a teenage apprentice when he was learning the printing trade.

When he was 12, Bens father wanted him to apprentice to his older brother James. James had a printing business. When Ben was 15, James created a new newspaper, the New-England Courant. This was one of the first privately owned newspapers in the colonies. It was a success. It helped support Jamess printing business.

BECOMING A PRINTER AND A WRITER

At first Ben liked working at Jamess printing business. Ben loved to read the newspapers and books that his brother printed. He also spent much of his free time writing short stories.

When Ben was 16, he wanted to write for Jamess newspaper. His brother, however, thought that Ben was too young to be a journalist. Ben decided to write letters to the newspaper. He signed the letters Mrs. Silence Dogood. James did not know Mrs. Silence Dogood was his younger brother. James liked the letters very much. He thought they were smart and funny. He printed them. When he learned that Ben had written the letters, he could not believe that a teenage boy could write so well. He was also angry that Ben had lied to him. Soon they began to have arguments. Ben decided to stop working for his brother and go to Philadelphia to start a new life.

This painting helps us imagine the day young Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia. He came without money and a loaf of bread under his arm.

OWNING A BUSINESS IN PHILADELPHIA

Ben was 17 when he arrived in Philadelphia. He found a job as a printer. He worked very hard. The governor of Pennsylvania, Sir William Keith, wanted to go into business with Ben to start a newspaper. He sent Ben to England to buy printing equipment. When Ben arrived in England, the governor broke his promise and did not send Ben any money.

This hand-colored woodcut shows the day Governor Keith came to see Ben Franklin in Philadelphia. He told Ben he should go to England to buy printing equipment.

This political cartoon was published by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 in his Pennsylvania Gazette . He published it to support his plan for the colonies to unite.

Ben worked for two years for a printer in England. He earned enough money to return to Philadelphia in 1726. In 1728, Ben and a friend bought a printing business. One year later, they began to publish a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette. Ben wrote many funny stories and interesting articles for the newspaper. It soon became the most popular newspaper in the American colonies. In 1730, he married Deborah Read.

CREATING POOR RICHARDS ALMANAC

Ben Franklin liked to write books and articles under different names. In 1732, he wrote a book called Poor Richards Almanac. An almanac is a type of book that has a calendar, maps, weather forecasts, proverbs, and funny sayings. Franklin published his almanac in 1733 under the name of Richard Saunders.

These are the title pages of the 1733 and 1743 editions of Poor Richards Almanac. It was one of the most popular publications in colonial America.

This 19th-century print, based on Poor Richards Almanac , shows Franklin surrounded by many of his best-known sayings.

People loved his book, and it was very successful. He sold more than 10,000 copies each year. This would be equal to three million copies today. He wrote a new almanac each year for the next 25 years. Even today people quote his words. One famous saying is Fish and visitors stink in three days.

SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

Franklin was good at many things. He was always very curious to understand how the world worked. He had a scientific mind. His many discoveries led to improvements in society.