Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin - the most perfect representative of the capitalist spirit, the greatest American scientist, famous statesman and writer in the eighteenth century. The most true portrayal of his life is what he himself said, "Honesty and diligence should be your permanent companions."

On January 17, 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born in North America. Boston. His father was a British painter who was engaged in making candles and soap. He had ten children, and Franklin was the eighth. Franklin entered school at the age of eight. Although he had excellent academic performance, because there were too many children in his family, his father's income could not afford his education. So, when he was ten years old, he left school and went home to help his father make candles. Franklin only attended school for two years in his life. When he was twelve years old, he went to the small printing office run by his brother James as an apprentice. Since then, he has been a printer for nearly ten years, but his studies have never stopped. He saved money from his food expenses to buy books. At the same time, he made use of his work to get acquainted with apprentices from several bookstores. He secretly borrowed books from the bookstores at night, read them all night long, and returned them early the next morning. He reads a wide range of books, from popular books on natural science and technology to papers by famous scientists and works by famous writers.

It was during this period of his apprenticeship that Franklin learned arithmetic, which he had failed twice in school, and read books about navigation by Thaler and Schermer. In navigation books, he came into contact with knowledge of geometry. He also read Locke's "Human Understanding" and "The Art of Thinking" by the Bolloard authors. Franklin's studies deepened day by day.

In 1723, Franklin left Boston and worked as a worker at Kevier Printing House in Philadelphia and Parvey and Watts Printing House in London, England. In the autumn of 1726, Franklin returned to Philadelphia. By this time, he had mastered superb printing technology and began to operate a printing house independently. He printed and distributed the "Pennsylvania Journal" and published "Poor Richard's Almanac", which was translated into Twelve languages ??are sold in European and American countries. In the autumn of 1727, he and several young people founded the "*** Reading Club" in Philadelphia, organizing a small library to help workers, craftsmen and small clerks study on their own. Every Friday evening, issues related to philosophy, politics, and natural science are discussed. At this time, Franklin was less than thirty years old. Through hard self-study, he had become a learned scholar and enlightenment thinker, and his reputation in North America was increasing day by day. Under Franklin's leadership, the "New Reading Society" existed for almost forty years and later developed into the American Philosophical Association, becoming the center of American scientific thought.

In 1736, Franklin was elected secretary of the Pennsylvania Assembly. In 1737, he was appointed deputy postmaster of Philadelphia. Although the work became more and more heavy, Franklin still insisted on studying every day. In order to further open the door to the treasure house of knowledge, he worked tirelessly to learn foreign languages ??and successively mastered French, Italian, Spanish and Latin. He widely accepted the advanced achievements of world science and culture. It laid a solid foundation for its own scientific research.

Frank is not only an excellent scientist, but also an outstanding social activist. He spent a lot of time in his life engaged in social activities. Franklin paid special attention to education. He established libraries, organized and founded multiple associations in order to improve the cultural quality of people from all walks of life.

While he was constantly making new achievements in scientific research, due to the brutal rule of the British colonists, the national liberation movement in the North American colonies was growing day by day. For the sake of national independence and liberation, he resolutely put down his experimental instruments and actively stood at the forefront of the struggle. From 1757 to 1775, he negotiated with Britain several times as a representative of the North American colonies. After the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he participated in the drafting of the Second Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, Franklin, who was already seventy years old, traveled across the ocean as an envoy to France and won the support of the French and European people for the North American War of Independence. In 1787, he actively participated in the formulation of the United States Constitution and organized a movement against the enslavement of black people.

Franklin spent his last winter surrounded by relatives. On April 17, 1790, at 11 o'clock in the night, Franklin suddenly passed away. At that time, his grandsons Temple and Benjamin were with him. On April 21, the people of Philadelphia held a funeral for him. Twenty thousand people participated in the funeral procession and mourned for Franklin's death for a month to express their condolences. Benjamin. In this way, Franklin completed the 84 years of his life and lay quietly in the tomb in the church yard. His tombstone was only engraved with: "Franklin the Printer."

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