In the s, as urban populations in the New World began to rise, Franklin helped to found the first hospital in what would become the United States. Pennsylvania Hospital still exists and operates today in Philadelphia. He was directly involved with editing the Declaration of Independence, was a trusted voice at the Constitutional Convention, which led to the United States Constitution, and was integral to writing the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.
Benjamin Franklin had numerous impacts upon the city of Philadelphia throughout his lifetime and was involved in the establishment of many important civic institutions. The Union Fire Company, one of the first organized firefighting groups in the world and the first in Philadelphia, was established by him in While Franklin is well-known for his scientific accomplishments, he also was quite a successful businessman although certainly not a billionaire.
As minister to France starting in , Franklin helped negotiate and draft the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War. In , Franklin left France and returned once again to Philadelphia. In , he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Constitutional Convention. At the end of the convention, in September , he urged his fellow delegates to support the heavily debated new document.
The U. Franklin died a year later, at age 84, on April 17, , in Philadelphia. In his will, he left money to Boston and Philadelphia, which was later used to establish a trade school and a science museum and fund scholarships and other community projects.
More than years after his death, Franklin remains one of the most celebrated figures in U. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. He only had two years of formal education. The man considered the most brilliant American of his age rarely saw the inside of a classroom.
Franklin spent just two years attending Boston Latin School and a private academy before joining the family candle and soap making While his support for protective tariffs led to rising prices for consumers and arguably paved Franklin Pierce , the son of a onetime governor of New Hampshire, entered politics at a young age. He served as speaker of the state legislature before winning election to the U. House of Representatives in After two terms in the House and one in the Senate, When armed conflict between bands of American colonists and British soldiers began in April , the Americans were ostensibly fighting only Thomas Paine was an England-born political philosopher and writer who supported revolutionary causes in America and Europe.
Franklin D. His training as a craftsman made him more accomplished as an inventor. As a journalist his most important journalistic influence was his brother James who is considered the first fighter for journalistic freedom in America.
This legacy is framed and hanged in many newsroom walls in America. Franklin was an ambitious entrepreneur, disciplined and industrious, working hard until late at night. He used the skills he had learned to open his own printing business. As a politician he was the first one to propose the union of the colonies for common defense. He was accused as a royalist but when the time came he stood up for freedom becoming one of the Founding Fathers. Franklin negotiated the end of the war with England and was one of the signers of the Treaty of Paris.
His reputation facilitated respect and entrees into closed communities, including the court of King Louis XVI. And it was his adept diplomacy that led to the Treaty of Paris in , which ended the Revolutionary War. After almost a decade in France, Franklin returned to the United States in Franklin was elected in to represent Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention , which drafted and ratified the new U. The oldest delegate at the age of 81, Franklin initially supported proportional representation in Congress, but he fashioned the Great Compromise that resulted in proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation by state in the Senate.
In , he helped found the Society for Political Inquiries, dedicated to improving knowledge of government. Franklin was never elected president of the United States. However, he played an important role as one of eight Founding Fathers, helping draft the Declaration of Independence and the U. He also served several roles in the government: He was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly and appointed as the first postmaster general for the colonies as well as diplomat to France.
He was a true polymath and entrepreneur, which is no doubt why he is often called the "First American. Franklin died on April 17, , in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the home of his daughter, Sarah Bache. He was 84, suffered from gout and had complained of ailments for some time, completing the final codicil to his will a little more than a year and a half prior to his death.
He bequeathed most of his estate to Sarah and very little to his son William, whose opposition to the patriot cause still stung him. He also donated money that funded scholarships, schools and museums in Boston and Philadelphia. But the scope of things he applied himself to was so broad it seems a shame.
Founding universities and libraries, the post office, shaping the foreign policy of the fledgling United States, helping to draft the Declaration of Independence, publishing newspapers, warming us with the Franklin stove, pioneering advances in science, letting us see with bifocals and lighting our way with electricity—all from a man who never finished school but shaped his life through abundant reading and experience, a strong moral compass and an unflagging commitment to civic duty.
Franklin illuminated corners of American life that still have the lingering glow of his attention. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Benjamin Rush is best known for his political activities during the American Revolution, including signing the Declaration of Independence. Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal led the nation through the Great Depression.
Elected to four terms, his presidency helped ensure victory in World War II.
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