Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. In all, Josiah would father 17 children. Josiah intended for Benjamin 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 that was grueling work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets. After his teenage years, Franklin ran away from home and arrived in Philadelphia where he would gain his fame for inventions and discoveries. Franklin is also known as one of the founding fathers of our country, The United States of America. He signed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and was our first Foreign Ambassador when visited King Louis XVI. Franklin also helped the government of France sign a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans in 1778. Franklin also helped secure loans and persuade the French they were doing the right thing. Franklin was on hand to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1783, after the Americans had won the Revolution. Franklin died on April 17 1790 at the age of 84. Over twenty thousand people attended his funeral services ("Quick", 1995).
When it comes to electricity, Ben Franklin is the first thing that pops up in most people's head. Ben didn't invent electricity but he was able to do many things that were really incredible. His first and most famous experiment with electricity was him flying a kite in a thunderstorm. "He wanted to prove that lightning is electricity" (Usel, 1996). So Ben and his son William had decided to try an electrical experiment during a thunderstorm. They both walked to the top of a hill and let the kite go up. They wanted to get electricity to hit the rod on the kite and travel down the rope and hit the key.
