Thank you, Benjamin Franklin!

1. Thank you, Benjamin Franklin!

2. Overview • Benjamin Franklin was very creative. He discovered many things that we still use today. • Life in the 1700’s was very different from our lives today. Benjamin used his ideas to make life easier, and we still use his inventions 300 years later.

3. Bifocals • Ben had poor vision and needed glasses to read. He got tired of constantly taking them off and putting them back on, so he decided to figure out a way to make his glasses let him see both near and far. He had two pairs of spectacles cut in half and put half of each lens in a single frame. Today, we call them bifocals.

4. Lightning Rod • Everyone knows the story of Ben's famous kite flight. Although he made important discoveries and advancements, Ben did not "invent" electricity. He discovered that lightning was electricity. He did, however, invent the lightning rod which protected buildings and ships from lightning damage.

5. Franklin Stove • In colonial America, most people warmed their homes by building a fire in a fireplace even though it was kind of dangerous and used a lot of wood. Ben figured that there had to be a better way. His invention of an iron furnace stove allowed people to warm their homes less dangerously and with less wood. The furnace stove that he invented is called a Franklin stove.

6. The Odometer • As postmaster, Ben had to figure out routes for delivering the mail. He went out riding in his carriage to measure the routes and needed a way to keep track of the distance. He invented a simple odometer and attached it to his carriage.

7. More on Ben • Ben opened the first library in 1731. He and his friends put their money together to buy books and then let people borrow them from the library. • Ben also established the first fire company and the first fire insurance company in order to help people live more safely.

8. Ben as a printer • As a child, Ben loved to read, write, and collect books; so when it came time to choose a trade, his father decided he would become a printer. At the age of twelve, Ben started as an apprentice with his older brother James. At the age of twenty-two, he opened my own printing shop. His newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette became very popular and profitable. A few years later, Poor Richard’s Almanac was released and soon became the best selling book in the colonies, selling over 10,000 copies a year.

9. As a printer (continued) • Soon, he became the most active printer in the colonies and was appointed the official printer of Pennsylvania. His duties included printing money, laws, and documents for the colony. He then became the public printer for Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland. Ben also helped establish newspapers in New York, Connecticut, and two islands in the West Indies.

10. Poor Richard’s Almanac • Do you recognize any of these sayings? • When the well is dry --- they know the worth of water. • Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. • Hunger never saw bad bread. • Speak little, do much.

11. Founding Father • During the fight for independence, Benjamin was sent to Europe to represent the colonies. In 1776, he signed the Declaration of Independence and, in 1778, the Treaty of Alliance with France. When the colonists won their independence in 1781, he helped negotiate the peace with England and signed what ultimately became known as Treaty of Peace with Great Britain (1782).

12. Early Draft of the Declaration of Independence Please click on the document to listen to how the Declaration of Independence was distributed to the colonists.

13. Founding Father Continued • Upon signing the Constitution on September 17, 1787, Benjamin became the only Founding Father to have signed all five documents that established American independence: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, and the Constitution of the United States of America.

14. Happy Birthday, Benjamin! • January 17, 2006, would mark the 300th birthday of Benjamin Franklin.