Benjamin Franklin: Publishing Years
(Birth to Age 39)
by Ron Kurtus (revised 17 December 2005)
Benjamin Franklin had an amazing life during the formative years of the
United States. He started as a publisher, became a renown scientist and
later became a statesman. This first part of his life involves his early years.
After growing up and leaving home, he became involved in the publishing business
until he was 39 years old.
Questions you may have include:
How did he get into publishing?
Did he have some special way of thinking or personality traits
that allowed him to become a great person—a champion in his time?
Are there things you could emulate, so you could do great things, too?
This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz
near the end of the lesson.
Birth to 19 years (1706 - 1725)
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Since this was on a Sunday, his father had him immediately baptized, to
avoid any superstitious curse on him.
Ben showed signs of genius at an early age. When he was 8-years old, he devised
swimming fins to help him go faster when swimming in the waters of Boston
Harbor.
When he was a boy, Franklin liked to write his name in a fancy manner.
But one day an old man who was visiting the Franklin's saw the elaborate
signature and remarked, "What fool wrote this?" After that, Ben
started writing his name in a plain style.
Started in printing
At age 12, he started as an apprentice at his brother' printing shop. While
working there, Ben wrote some poems that his brother printed and sold.
But Ben's brother also treated him harsh and tyrannical. Franklin later
attributed his love of independence to the years he spent as an apprentice
and his aversion to the arbitrary power of his brother.
Franklin loved to read. When he was 16, he tried to save money to buy more
books by only eating vegetables to cut food costs. That same year, he
wrote the "Silence Dogood" essays.
Moves to Philadelphia
Unhappy working for his brother, Franklin left home and moved
to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at age 17. He arrived there
almost penniless. He also essentially cut his ties with his family in Boston.
He gained attention of the Pennsylvania Governor, and at age 18 Ben was
sent to London to study the latest developments in printing. He worked in
the ship's print shop on the journey.
Ages 20 to 29 (1726 - 1735)
When he was 20, Franklin returned to Philadelphia. He started the American
Philosophical Society, at age 21. The next year, he started his first print
shop in Philadelphia.
Starts newspaper and almanac
At age 23, he established the Pennsylvania Gazette Newspaper. This was
the first newspaper to use political cartoons. Franklin married at age 24
and his son William was born the next year. When he was 26, he published
the first edition of his Poor Richard's Almanac.
Franklin working on his newspaper
Ages 30 to 39 (1736 - 1745)
Franklin continued his printing business, but he also became involved in
civic affairs and started his scientific observations during these years.
Helped Philadelphia
At age 30, Franklin started the first fire department in Philadelphia.
The next year, he was given the job as Postmaster General of Philadelphia.
At age 36, he proposed the idea for the Academy of Pennsylvania, now the
University of Pennsylvania.
Studied weather
When he was 37, Franklin observed that northeast storms begin in the southwest.
He thought it was odd that storms travel in an opposite direction to their
winds. After further observations and performing studies of storms, he predicted
that a storm's course could be plotted. He then printed weather forecasts
in his Poor Richard's Almanac.
Encouraged healthy eating
In Poor Richard's Almanac, Franklin encouraged the eating of citrus fruits, including
oranges, limes, and grapefruits. He coined the phrase "An
apple a day keeps the doctor away" and touted the advantages of fruit
in helping to maintain the gums and skin.
Summary
During his first 40 years, Benjamin Franklin was involved in printing and
publishing. He also made contributions to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania
civic affairs and even made weather observations and had opinions on good eating.
His next 10 years were devoted to scientific studies.
1. From his early years, what important traits did Ben Franklin show?
2. Why did Franklin start a newspaper?
3. Why did Franklin start scientific studies?
If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion
in understanding the Biographies of famous people. If you had problems, you had better look
over the material again.
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