Although there are different assumptions, it is generally accepted that the American continent was discovered for the first time in 1492 by the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus. America, which remained a colony of different countries for many years, was liberated on July 4, 1776, at the end of the war of independence and the United States of America was established. Benjamin Franklin, who is considered one of the founding fathers of the USA, has an extremely important place in the history of the country.
We don’t think many people see it because of the exchange rate, but at least as far as we can see from Hollywood movies, Benjamin Franklin, whose photographs cost over 100 dollars, not only fought for the liberation of the continent, but also organized European relations and made important contributions to science. Let’s take a closer look at who Benjamin Franklin is and see interesting details about his life story.
Benjamin Franklin was a boy who was not well-educated but eager to read:
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in the Boston area of the American continent, which was then a British colony. . Born in England, he was the eighth of ten children by his father’s second wife. Due to the circumstances of the time, Benjamin had only been educated until the age of ten, but he was an eager and curious child to read.
Benjamin was apprenticed to his brother, who was a printer, when he was 12 years old. At the age of 17, he first went to Philadelphia and then to London, the capital of England. Developing his printing skills there, Benjamin returned to Philadelphia in 1726 and opened a printing house there.
Makes his name as a master printer and publisher:
Benjamin Franklin was printing government pamphlets, books, and money in his Philadelphia printing house. In the following years, he gained both money and success with his local newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, and the Poor Richard’s Almanack column he published in this newspaper. He introduced many new words into English in this column.
moved to live with Deborah Read in 1730. They could not marry because Deborah Read was officially married even though her first husband had left her, and the law did not approve of a polygamous life. In this happy union, they had children whose names would go down in the history of the United States. The most interesting of Benjamin Franklin’s children is William Franklin. William Franklin served as the last colonial governor of New Jersey, sided with the British during the war of independence, and died in England, where he was exiled after the founding of the United States.
Benjamin Franklin makes many innovations in Philadelphia:
Benjamin Franklin, now a successful printer and publisher, was financially well off. By 1850 he established a library that would become the largest on the continent. He laid the foundations for the first fire company, the first police patrol, the first city hospital, the first street lighting system, and the Philadelphia Academy, the first educational institution that would later become the University of Pennsylvania.
was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia by the British in 1737. He made many innovations regarding the postal system until he was dismissed in 1774 because of his sympathy for the anti-colonialists. Because of this success, he became the first general postal manager of the state after the establishment of the United States of America and his photograph was put on the first stamps printed. Even today, the US postal administration is a federal structure.
Benjamin Franklin’s inventions:
Let’s talk about Benjamin Franklin’s inventions before moving on to his contributions to the American freedom struggle. Because it would be an understatement to say that he only contributed to science, he was a complete scientist. When he expanded his business and retired, he devoted himself fully to science and coined many of the terms and inventions we use even today.
One of Benjamin Franklin’s most important inventions is undoubtedly the lightning rod, which removes the damage caused by lightning. In the following years, with his kite experiment, he revealed that lightning is electricity. Benjamin Franklin, who also works on ocean currents, meteorology, cold and cooling systems, is the inventor of the Franklin stove, which provides more heat with less fuel, bifocal glasses, and the glass harmonica that even Mozart composed to play with.
The American Revolution begins:
Benjamin Franklin, who attended the colonial representatives meeting in New York in 1754 as the representative of the Pennsylvania Assembly, convened the first national convention here. proposed, but this proposal was rejected. In the following years, Franklin went to the capital of England, London, stayed here for a while and returned to America with the start of the war of independence.
At that time, the British passed a Stamp Act in the colony. The public opposed this law because it brought a huge tax burden. Even though the law was later repealed, public anger against the British had once ignited. In a short time, this anger turned into an armed uprising and the American War of Independence began in 1775, which would last until 1783.
During the conflict, 13 colonies declared their independence in 1776. Benjamin Franklin was one of the five people who drafted this so-called Declaration of Independence and are today called the Founding Fathers. Franklin sought help from France in this process and accelerated the struggle for independence with their support. After the war of independence was won in 1776, Benjamin Franklin went to France for a while and contributed to the preparation of the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
Benjamin Franklin in the early years of the United States:
In 1785 Benjamin Franklin left France and moved to the now free United States of America. returned. He attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 as a Pennsylvania delegate. Franklin, who was 81 at the time, was the oldest delegate of the convention. The US Constitution, to which Benjamin Franklin greatly contributed, was adopted in 1788, and in 1789 George Washington was inaugurated as the first US President.
Thinking that he was doing his duty to his country and the world, Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84 in Pennsylvania. About 20,000 people attended the funeral. In his will, he left a large part of his legacy to Boston and Philadelphia to establish a trade school, open a science museum, award scholarships, and fund other projects. The photo of Benjamin Franklin, whose contributions to the country are not forgotten, was printed for over $100. Even today, many institutions in the country are still named after him.
We answered the question of who is Benjamin Franklin, who is considered one of the founding fathers of the United States and has more than $100 photographs, and we talked about the contributions of this important name to his country and the world.
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