英文人物传记：a brief bibliography of Benjamin Franklin

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: Live Wire, written by Janet & Geoff Benge. Benjamin Franklin

was a printer, writer, inventor and scientist who made great contribution to the study of

electric. He was also one of the most important politicians who laid the foundation of America.

Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston. His family made a living by making soap

and candles. When Ben was little his father decided that Ben should become a clergyman. He

was sent to Boston Grammar School to learn Latin as the first part of his clergyman training when he was eight. Ben proved to be a good student with a quick mind. At that time he found

a great love of reading. Later Ben?s father and uncle found that Ben did not like praying so

much, so they changed the idea of training him to be a clergyman. Ben was then enrolled in

George Brownwell? School to learn Writing and Arithmetic. Only one year later, Ben was

withdrew out of school again. By then he had spent only two years in school. His parents

thought it was time for him to start working in the family soap-and candle-making business.

Ben hated making soap and candles, because he couldn?t get rid of the smell on his skin. Finally, after considering many other occupations, Ben became an apprentice in his brother James? print shop. He learned the business quickly and proved to be a good printer. He still carried a great love of books and he used to save his money for meals to buy books. One custom of the print shop Matthew Adams, who owned the biggest private library in Boston, offered Ben a chance to borrow books to read. That was a great pleasure to Ben, and he often read the book at night and sent it back in the morning. In 1721 James started publishing his own newspaper, the New England Courant. There were always scathing articles about the colonial government published and James got himself thrown into jail sometimes. Ben?s relationship with James didn?t go on smoothly, they had a massive problem on who should own the newspaper which finally lead Ben to think about working in another place. So he left without saying in September 1723.

His trip leaving for another place wasn?t safe and sound, he headed for New York, but after

finding no jobs in New York, he was recommended to Philadelphia. In the end he settled to

work with a print shop belonged to Samuel Keimer. He boarded in Mr. and Mrs. Read?s

house, where he fell in love with their daughter, Debby Read. One day governor Keith, who was an acquaintance to Ben?s brother-in-law Captain Robert Homes, came to see Ben, suggested that Ben should start his own print shop and guaranteed him all the government printing jobs for Pennsylvania and Delaware. Ben can?t help being excited about the idea. In 1724, Ben boarded a ship to England where he was supposed to get all the equipment he needed with Keith?s letter of credit and introduction, he was filled with hope when the ship arrived but he found that Keith had failed to give him all the letters he needed. He had no choice but to live on his own in London. By the time he saved enough money for a trip back, it was two years later. He learned a lot about life during this accidental trip. When he was finally back in Philadelphia, many things had changed. Debby, to whom he was engaged, had married a man with a bad reputation. Ben started his own print shop with the help of Hugh Meredith in 1728. He did all the lowly jobs himself due to a tight circulation of money. He began publishing his own newspaper Pennsylvania Gazette to rival the American Mercury. Debby?s husband left her perhaps for another wife, and in 1730, Debby and Ben started a family. With his print shop prospecting, there seemed to be a bright future ahead of him. Pennsylvania Gazette became a very popular newspaper and Ben started selling almanac Poor Richard’s Almanack written by himself. Slowly his family started to get rich. The next thing he thought about was to find a way to improve Philadelphia. He had already established a circulating library which lent books to the general public, and it had been a benefit to the society, and then he was thinking about paving the streets of Philadelphia. He wrote about the suggestions on his newspaper and paved one street as an example. Soon people found the advantages of paved streets and a bill was drafted to have the streets in the entire city paved, as well as lightened. After losing his second son Francis, he fell in great sorrow, and he threw himself into making Philadelphia better. He made a plan with the Philadelphia assembly to establish fire companies and police force. It turned out that his idea worked well. He kept on being useful. He invented a new stove that used less wood than before and it was more

efficient too. Debby gave birth to a baby girl in 1744 and she was named Sally. Since 1744

Ben started to study the nature of electric. By then people only knew that if certain things

were rubbed, it could attract light things. Ben used several new words to describe some

phenomenon, such as …conductor? and …insulator?, etc. He wrote to scientists in Europe about what he found, and his achievements were recognized. Still he wondered the nature of

lightening. As hypothesize it was also electric. To testify the theory Ben and his son William

carried the famous experiment of flying kite in the rain to extract the lightening. The theory

was proved right, and according this Ben invented the lightening rod. He was greatly honored

for his findings.

At that time conflicts always happened between America and native Indians, or British and

France. Ben suggested that there should be a united government for the colony to defend

themselves, he wrote that it?s either “Join or Die”, but few agreed with it. Pennsylvania was owned by the Penn family, who refused to pay taxes for the land people were defending, and Ben was sent to England accompanied by William as an official representative to negotiate with the Parliament about this. This was his second trip to London. He finally made the deal and returned five years later. After he came back he was regarded as a hero. As a result of wars, British had cost too much and raised taxes of almost everything in the colonies, and Ben went to London again to argue with the Parliament about the taxes in 1764. During his stay in London turmoil happened in the colony, in Boston American poured a cargo of tea into the sea and later many people were massacred. Ben knew that this was only the beginning. For what he saw in the British government, the corrupt, the misbehaving of the king, he decided that it was time for America to be an independent country. So when he came back in New York in May, 1775, he took side with the united government against British. His wife had died from a stroke earlier. His son however, remained to be loyal to British in the war. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress took a vote on the adopt of the document The Declaration of Independence, soon after that the document was signed and Ben was one of the people who signed it. The congress realized that British?s long time rival France could be their ally, so Ben was sent to Paris to negotiate a treaty of alliance with the French. He was greatly welcomed by the French. The negotiation didn?t turn until February 1777, when Washington had a major victory in New Jersey, finally French king signed the Treaty of Alliance in 1778. After the British were defeated Ben remained in France as the minister until 1785 when Thomas Jefferson came to replace him. By then Ben was 79 years old. From France he sailed across to England to reunion with his son William, who was arrested as a spy during the war, but Ben felt hard to forgive his treasonous actions. Finally he went back to Pennsylvania, he kept improving the governing of the new country and he was the only person who signed on all the five most important documents of founding of America. He died in1790, and everyone grieved for him. Looking back he had accomplished his goal, to live a useful life.

References: Benge, Janet & Geoff, Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire, Emerald Books, Lynnwood, Washington 98046, 2005.