FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, a distinguished American statesman and natural phi losopher, was b. at Boston, Jan. 17, 1706. His parents were poor, and had a family of 17 children, he being the 15th. Josiah Franklin, his father, had left England in 1685, and settled in America, where lie followed the business of soap-boiler and tallow. .chandler. An the age of 8, P. was sent to school, where he- displayed great aptitude _for learning. At 12, lie was apprenticed to his step-brother James, who had set up a printing-shop in the place, and lie soon acquired considerable proficiency at that trade. Ile was passionately fond of reading, and all the time lie could spare, he devoted to the of such books-as he could lay his hands on. He early attempted poetry, and -when, in 1720, his brother started a newspaper, he contributed a number of anonymous .articles to it; but on the fact being discovered, his brother treated him very harshly. After one of the frequent quarrels with his brother he determined to quit him; and accordingly, without the knowledge of his family, he left Boston and proceeded to New York; but not finding employment there, lie went next to Philadelphia, where lie suc ceeded in procuring a situation ina printer's shop. Here he attracted the attention of sir William Keith, the governor of Pennsylvania, who advised him to set up a printing establishment of his own. Thinking this good advice, he set out for England, with a view to obtain the necessary plant. Finding himself, however, deceived in his expec tations of assistance from Keith, and having no resources of his own, he was compelled to take employment in London, where he resided for about a year. On his way back to Philadelphia in 1726, he made the acquaintance of a merchant named Denham, who -gave him the situation of book-keeper in his office; but Denham dying soon after, F. went back to his old trade, and, with the assistance of some friends, started in business for himself. In 1730, he married a Miss Read, with whom lie had become acquainted previous to his visit to England. Matters now prospered with F.; he became the pro prietor and editor of a newspaper (Me Gazette) which attained a high degree of popu larity, and projected in 1732 Poor Richard's Almanac, in which-appeared the well-known maxims afterwards published under the title of The Way to Wealth, and translated into various languages. Through the instrumentality of F., a public library was founded
in 1732, the first established in Philadelphia. He also founded, in 1738, the first asso ciation for extinguishing fires, and at a later period the first company for insurance against fire; and in many other ways he contributed to the social and material progress of the city of his adoption. Among the public offices to which he was appointed were those of clerk to the general assembly of Pennsylvania in 1736; postmaster of Phila delphia in 1737; representative of Philadelphia in the assembly in 1747. In 1753, he was appointed deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies. In 1757, he was sent to England to settle some matters for the assembly, and so ably did lie perform his task, that Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia severally appointed him their English agent. Notwithstanding the multiplicity of his public duties, he found leisure to pursue his scientific investigations with such success as to gain for himself a lasting name in the world of science, as well as to merit the gratitude of the community in general. In 1752, he discovered time identity of electricity with lightning, and turned his discovery to account by publishing a plan for defending houses from lightning by the use of pointed conductors. He likewise made important discoveries with regard to the laws that regulate the electric fluid, a subject hitherto very imperfectly understood. His renown was spread over the whole civilized world, and honors were heaped upon him by the various learned societies of Europe. The Godfrey Coley gold medal was bestowed upon him by the royal society of London, which also nominated him one of its members. The universities of Oxford, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh respectively conferred upon him the degree of D.C.L. He was made an associate of the academy of sciences at Paris, as Leibnitz and Newton had been before him.