American Benjamin Franklin is one of the founding fathers of the United States, who signed the country's Constitution and the Declaration of its Independence. He is known not only as a politician, but also as an inventor, writer and founder of numerous educational institutions and hospitals. Americans cherish the memory of him. Benjamin Franklin is depicted on a one hundred dollar bill.
Childhood
On January 17, 1706, the future politician Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston. The biography of this person was typical for a child of immigrants from Europe. His father is a native of England, who worked as a manufacturer of candles and soaps. The boy's parents were not rich, because of which he had regular problems with the device at school. First, Benjamin Franklin, whose biography is known to any American, changed his educational institution after first grade, and then he was forced to stop training to help his father in a soap shop.
However, domestic adversities did not prevent the boy from preserving his natural curiosity. In his free time he read a lot and eagerly plunged into any book he came across. From childhood, he became interested in foreign languages. Already in adulthood, the politician knew Spanish, French, Italian and Latin. Linguistic skills helped him a lot throughout his life.
Relocation to Philadelphia
At the age of twelve, Franklin changed his father's shop to the printing house of his older brother James. For a reading enthusiast, this place was much more comfortable than a soap making workshop. James published several newspapers in which Franklin even secretly printed. A savvy and initiative young man tossed his anonymous materials to his brother, changing his handwriting.
Soon, the young man decided to leave his native cut. So first Benjamin Franklin ended up in New York. His biography, however, turned out to be much more connected with another American city - Philadelphia. Here Franklin also got a job at a print shop, where his abilities were appreciated. The company sent him to complete vocational education in London.
Successful entrepreneur
England became the new place where Benjamin Franklin worked and studied. The biography of this man has been associated with Europe for two years. In 1726, he returned to Philadelphia, where he opened his own printing house. Here is Franklin and the donkey. In 1730 he married. The printing business brought him a lot of money. An educated and wealthy resident of Philadelphia gradually became an increasingly prominent figure for the city.
The entrepreneur began to take part in local public life. In 1736, he was elected Secretary of the Pennsylvania Legislative Assembly. Also, at different times, Franklin was responsible for the local mail. For some time, his printing houses even printed money on state orders. At the age of 45, Franklin almost quit his social activities, as he wanted to start a quiet life in the rural wilderness of New Jersey. However, the turbulent era did not leave him such a chance.
Participation in public life
In the second half of the 18th century, discontent grew more and more in the American colonies of England. Residents did not like the increase in taxes that went to pay for regular British military campaigns. So the American movement for independence from the mother country appeared. One of its leaders was Benjamin Franklin.A brief biography of the politician is an example of a man who made a name for himself during English rule and became the spokesman of the popular sentiment in America.
Interestingly, until 1765, a public figure was a sincere supporter of federalization - the granting of autonomy to the colonies while maintaining them within the borders of the British Empire. Franklin tried to smooth out the contradictions between America and England. He began to write an appeal to the British Parliament, in which he tried to find a compromise with the authorities. And only after too many contradictions appeared between the colonies and the mother country did Franklin finally become a supporter of independence. Although the public figure was already not at all a young man, he directed all his energy to helping his native country in its struggle with the crown.
In 1754, he initiated the creation of the Union of Colonies. Franklin, along with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other politicians, was the author of the Declaration of Independence. This document was the first of its kind in the history of mankind. The British authorities did not want to let the colony go. Thus began the war of independence.
Diplomat in france
In 1776, Franklin was sent to France to establish allied relations with the Bourbon monarchy. The author of the most popular and complete book biography of politician Walter Isaacson writes in detail about this period of his life. Benjamin Franklin turned out to be not only a skilled businessman and expert in laws, but also a talented diplomat. He successfully lobbied for US interests. In 1778, France and the American colonies signed an allied treaty.
Paris helped troops and navy. For France, it was strategically important to annoy England - its eternal adversary. Therefore, the young American republic expectedly achieved the support of a completely dissimilar state in the political system. But the merit of such a capable diplomat as Benjamin Franklin is great in this success. Biography (Walter Isaacson - the author of this work) describes in detail his efforts at the Paris court, which resulted in a perfect victory.
Versailles Peace Treaty
Franklin remained in France until the very end of the war of independence. He participated in negotiations with the English side when London had already lost the confrontation with its former colonies. So in 1783 the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
England recognized US independence. “The Biography of Benjamin Franklin” (Isaacson’s book) carefully analyzes his services to his homeland at the head of a diplomatic mission that lasted seven years.
U.S. Founding Father
After the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles, Franklin returned to the United States, already at the most respectable age. He retired, but periodically continued to speak on important social and political issues that excited American society. In particular, shortly before his death, Franklin openly advocated the abolition of slavery. He sent his proposal to Congress. In addition, the politician and diplomat defiantly released his own slaves, who were at his estate.
Franklin died at the age of 84 in 1790. A public figure for a long time suffered from excruciating gout, which did not give him rest. At that time he was one of the wealthiest people in his country. According to the will of the founding father, all his money went to the treasury of his home state of Pennsylvania. These funds were used to found schools and hospitals. But even before that, a lot of philanthropic projects had been funded, initiated by Benjamin Franklin. Biography, review of the book and other facts about the life of a politician clearly demonstrate how advanced his ideas were.
Charity
Although Franklin never held leading positions in the American state, his role in the formation of a young nation is no less than that of other founding fathers.Thanks to his efforts, many public institutions and institutions appeared in the new state, which before that simply did not exist. Franklin sponsored and encouraged the opening of publicly accessible libraries, the construction of fire stations, etc. He did all this to make the lives of ordinary citizens more comfortable and safer.
Walter Isaacson (Benjamin Franklin. Biography, fb2) and other researchers noted that Franklin had a great influence on American education. Thanks to him, the University of Pennsylvania was opened in 1749. The influential American Philosophical Society can also be added to this list. Largely due to the enlightened Franklin, the United States became a free-thinking state. Immigrants from all over the world, primarily from Europe, where the reaction of the old absolute monarchies.
After the death of Franklin, his own memoirs were written in the last years of his life. In fact, it was an autobiography. The book immediately became a bestseller. Franklin paid much attention to human rights in his memoirs and public speeches. He considered them the basis of a normal healthy society, which was supposed to be built in the USA.
Scientific activity
Education and science were not just a public concern for Franklin. Among other things, the famous American was a fruitful scientist and inventor. He created a lightning rod, as well as bifocal glasses. Isaacson W. ("Benjamin Franklin. Biography") also described in detail his writings. The scientist became the author of several serious scientific works in such diverse subjects as meteorology, electricity, shipbuilding, wind music and agriculture.
Franklin was also one of the first to offer daylight saving time to save money. True, this proposal was left without attention and was implemented much later. The scientist studied lead a lot and wrote a paper on its harmful effects on the human body. Franklin's discoveries in various fields of natural science were appreciated during his lifetime. So, in 1753 he was awarded the Copley Medal, which he was awarded by the Royal Society of London. In the XVIII century, it was one of the most prestigious world awards of its kind. In 1779, Franklin became a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
