Ben Franklin

Ben Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son to a soap maker. Ben's mother was Abigail Folger, and the second wife of Josiah. He was 6th president of Pennsylvania. He had 2 sisters named Deborah and Sarah and 2 brothers named James and William.

Ben discovered electricity on May 10, 1752. Ben loved to read. When Ben was 15 his brother James started the New England Courant, the first newspaper in Boston. Ben ran the business while his brother was in jail. James was not grateful to Ben for keeping the business going; instead he kept harassing Ben and beat him from time to time. Ben could not take it anymore and decided to run away in 1723. Running away was illegal in early America. People all had a place in society and runaways did not fit anywhere. Ben invented the lightning rod and the library chair. Ben was involved with the congress.

In 1729 Ben Franklin brought a newspaper called the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper but also wrote articles under different names. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard's Almanac. In addition to running a print shop, the Franklins also ran their own store with everything from soap to fabric. Franklin died on April 17, 1790 at the age of 84. 20,000 people attended the funeral of the man who was called ''a harmonious human multitude". His electric personality, however, still lights up the world.