“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” ......Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) – Statesman, scientist, philosopher, printer, writer, inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, in fact jocularly referred to as the only president of the United States who was never the President of the United States.” ________________________________________ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Benjamin Franklin – Statesman, scientist, philosopher, printer, writer, inventor and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America – was born on January 17, 1706, in the family of Josiah Franklin (a tallow chandler, a soap-maker and a candle-maker) and Abiah Folger on Milk Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Benjamin (aka Ben) was 15th child and tenth and last son of Josiah who intended for Ben to enter into the clergy. However, Josiah could only afford to send his son to school for one year and clergymen needed years of schooling. But, as young Benjamin loved to read he had him apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets and set type which was exhausting work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets. When Ben was 15, James founded The New-England Courant (the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies). When denied to write for publication, Franklin began contributing, what eventually became highly popular, under the guise of “Mrs Silence Dogood” ! James was furious with Ben when he discovered the popular correspondent was infact his younger brother. Franklin left his apprenticeship without permission, and moved to Philadelphia and quickly opened his own print shop and started publishing. Benjamin Franklins publications reflected his democratic spirit and so were popular in format and content. Poor Richards Almanac consisted of stories about a fictional Poor Richard whose trials and tribulations provided an ideal context in which Franklin could advise readers on politics, philosophy, and how to get ahead in the world. Franklin was a prodigious inventor. Among his many creations were the lightning rod, glass armonica (a glass instrument, not to be confused with the metal harmonica), Franklin stove (an iron-furnace stove, with a sliding door which burns wood on a grate, thus allowing people to cook food and heat their homes at the same time), bifocal glasses and the flexible urinary catheter. Franklin never patented his inventions; in his autobiography he wrote, ... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously. He formed both the first public lending library in America (Library Company of Philadelphia), the first fire department in Pennsylvania and the American Philosophical Society, which promoted scientific and intellectual dialogue and, to this day, is one of the nations premiere scholarly associations. Recognizing the tyranny and corruption of rule by few, Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson) rejected the European model of aristocratic rule and crafted a system based on representational democracy. Franklin was a member of the Continental Congress which crafted the Articles of Confederation and he helped draft the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Franklin sought to cultivate his character by a plan of 13 virtues, which he developed at age 20 (in 1726) and continued to practice in some form for the rest of his life. His autobiography lists his 13 virtues as: 1. Temperance. [Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.] 2. Silence. [Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.] 3. Order. [Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.] 4. Resolution. [Resolve to perform what you should; perform without fail what you resolve.] 5. Frugality. [Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; waste nothing.] 6. Industry. [Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.] 7. Sincerity. [Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.] 8. Justice. [Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.] 9. Moderation. [Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.] 10. Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.] 11. Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.] 12. Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or anothers peace or reputation.] 13. Humility. [Imitate Jesus and Socrates.] A signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Franklin is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. His pervasive influence in the early history of the United States has led to his being jocularly called the only president of the United States who was never the President of the United States. Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. ________________________________________ By AVDHESH SHUKLA
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 16:33:09 +0000
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