Max+R.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN  By Max Raines

=Most of you refer to me as ‘the guy on the one hundred dollar bill.’ Well, I’m much more than that, I am Benjamin Franklin. = = = = EARLY LIFE = = = = I was born on January 17, 1706. I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. I was the 15th child and 10th son of 17 children born to Josiah Franklin and Jane White Franklin. As a boy, I loved books and reading. I liked to learn so much that I taught myself geometry, physical sciences, algebra, grammar logic and navigation. I also studied Spanish, Italian, French, German and Latin as a boy. =

=EDUCATION AND JOBS = = = = The first school I attended was The Boston Latin School at age 8. At age 12, my father pulled me out of school to work in his candle shop. I never went to school again. Shortly, after I started to work in my dad’s shop, I started to work in my brother James’s print shop because I hated working in a candle shop. My first real newspaper was //__The Pennsylvania Gazette__// when I moved to Philadelphia. =

=ACCOMPLISHMENTS = = = = I did many things in my lifetime. I started the first fire and police stations in 1732. I used a silk kite and a key at the end of the string to figure out that lightning was electricity. I invented the Franklin Stove, bifocal glasses, the odometer and swim paddles. = = I was one of the main founders of the University of Pennsylvania. I thought the American Turkey should be national bird because it was native to America and very courageous while I thought the eagle was lazy and a coward. = = I drew the first political cartoon, called Join or Die that encouraged the colonies to join together against the British. I also wrote //Poor Richard’s Almanack//, once a year that included the weather, poems, puzzles, calendar and other games. One of my famous quotes is, “Fish and company stink in 3 days." = = = = Declaration of Independence  = =<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">  = = <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">I was a patriot. I was sent to England to complain to King George about the taking advantage of the colonists. When I returned in 1775, the American Revolution had already began. The Pennsylvania Assembly unanimously chose me as their representative to the Second Continental Congress. In June 1776, I was appointed to the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. I was temporarily disabled by gout but still made only small changes to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration. = = = = <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 20pt; text-align: center;">France Trip = =<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> = =<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> In December of 1776, I was sent to France as commissioner for the United States. My job was to ask for France’s help in the fight against the British. I had great success and they gave us supplies and soldiers. I lived there until 1785 and was Grand Master of the House of Nine Sisters as a freemason. =

=<span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">My Death = =<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> = =<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> I died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. About 20,000 people attended my funeral. At age 79 I set up a trust fund for the 2 cities of Philadelphia and Boston that would accumulate interest for 200 years. I gave them each 1000 pounds or about 4,400 dollars. Over the years, the money grew to 2 million dollars in the Philadelphia trust and 5 million dollars in the Boston trust. This money has been used for high school student scholarships to college and home loans. =