Benjamin Franklin Contributions

Benjamin Franklin
Inventor and Writer Determined, inventor, and writer are the three words that people think in connection to Ben Franklin. Many people know that Ben Franklin invented many things, but he was so much more. Ben Franklin changed the world by creating so many new inventions and ideas, and he left his legacy as an inventor and writer. The early life of Ben Franklin was pretty normal. He grew up in a family of twelve, with a dad, mom, and ten sisters and brothers. According to Amy Anderson in Success magazine, as a child Ben enjoyed reading and writing a lot. However, he eventually stopped going to school at ten years old in order to work full time for his father.(Bio.com) For the next six years he worked in a candle
shop. His work experiences in life were mostly about writing. He began to work for his brother's newspaper when he was sixteen years old, where he wrote columns under the fake name of “Silence Dogood”(Anderson). At eighteen he ran away to Philadelphia to start his own print shop so he could make more money, which turned out to be successful. According to UShistory.org, he origin of his work in electricity emerged in the 1750’s when he began to study it, because he was curious about it. This became his growth period when he started to contribute to society. He went on to work with groups and these are his experiences. According to Donovan 454, Ben Franklin wrote for the Pennsylvania Gazette, where he published the first political cartoon, and then went on to become the first president of the American Philosophical Society(donovan 454). Eventually in 1775 he became a colonial representative in four states, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Massachusetts. Overall, Ben Franklin was a very successful writer from an early age. When Ben Franklin was committed to working on a specific study, he created many inventions.
His contributions to society helped many people at this time, and they went on for generations. As stated by Donovan 455, in 1748, when studying electricity and conducting experiments, he developed his Theory of Points which states that blunt metal objects don’t attract as much electricity as pointed objects. Other than that there were so many more inventions he made such as the glass harmonica, who Mozart and Beethoven wrote music for(Bio.com). Stated by UShistory.org, he also created the heat efficient stove, bifocals, and swimfins all of which we still use today. Ben Franklin took part in many things to help people and society. This is why he joined the Pennsylvania Militia as a soldier(Bio.com). He wanted to help Pennsylvania fight, and soon became a colonel. All of this happened during the French and Indian War. He then proposed a plan to bring the colonies together in peace. Ben Franklin’s actions definitely had a positive influence on society. According to Donovan 455, he made electricity a science. He made his mark on the study of science by creating the terms we still use today such as conductor, positive, negative, and even battery(Bio.com).
He didn’t just affect the world of science though. In fact, he was part of the committee that wrote the Declaration of Independence. His biggest impact on society was ending the Revolutionary War by negotiating a peace treaty with
Paris. His inventions helped communities greatly. In fact Ben Franklin was the first person to organize the first fire insurance company because fires were very common at the time(Donovan 454). Also stated by Donovan 454, he liked reading books so much that he made the first circulating library where many books were donated and borrowed. All of these inventions are much more advanced but still used today. In all of this Franklin did change over time by observing what happened in the world around him. Here are some of the things affected Ben Franklin. First, his son died at the age of four from smallpox, a common disease at the time(Bio.com). His Wife died also, this happened in March 1775, she died of paralysis. From then on, his perspective on life was different. But he still was a very successful man. In fact, according to Donovan 454, he was wealthy enough to retire at the age of forty-two.
There were many people who affected Ben Franklin in his life such as family. For instance, his father was a printer and his brother was a writer. While growing up, this is what Franklin was. But he became so much more to become one of the most successful men to ever live.
Benjamin Franklin the man who started his own business and move on to be greatly successful and have a wonderful life. He basically created the American Dream. His legacy is still written about today. The life of Ben Franklin and his story as a Founding Father, inventor, writer, and much more.