Transcript Thank you, Benjamin Franklin!

Thank you, Benjamin
Franklin!
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.
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Bifocals
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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.
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.
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.
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.
More on Ben
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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.
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.
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.
Poor Richard’s Almanac
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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.
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).
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.
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.
Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

January 17, 2006, would mark the 300th
birthday of Benjamin Franklin.