Mad Scientist and the Freemasons

The Pennsylvania Gazette was the next major project for Benjamin Franklin. The Gazette was a forum in which people within his community could vent out about problems with laws and things that agitated them. It was something that Ben had started off, so it was a brief return to his former job. By this time, Franklin had endured quite a bit of social success. He was highly regarded and was a sort of renaissance man. During that time, the free masons reached out and he joined them in 1731. It only took him 3 years to become a grand master in the free masons society.

Benjamin Franklin wrote and published the book Poor Richard's Almanack in 1733 under the pseudonym Richard Saunders. The popular book is famous for its timeless quotes such as, "A penny saved is twopence dear" and so forth. Along with being a freemason, publisher, businessman statesmen, scientist, he was a well respected author who could publish his books at will.

Benjamin Franklin, the scientist had some very important findings in his inventions. To find out more about Benjamin Franklin, tune in next week for the last installment of Benjamin Franklin and his many sides.


Picture Citation: www.freemasons-freemasonry.com

Works Cited:Sparks, Jared (1856), "The Life of Benjamin Franklin: Containing the Autobiography with Notes and a Continuation", Boston: Whittemore, Niles and Hall.

Quote pulled from Poor Richards Almanack by Benjamin Franklin.

Ben Franklin: An Introduction

We all have seen his face on the one hundred dollar bill. We have heard about the stories of Benjamin Franklin flying a kite in the middle of a thunderstorm. 200 years after his death, he is still an American symbol of human intellect, and ingenuity. The former ambassador to France is someone I look up to and draw inspiration from. This is the 1st of 4 blogs dedicated to the man and his achievements. Let us begin.......

It all began on January 17, 1706 in an English colony called Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, Joesiah, and Abiah were of Puritan faith, which was the foundation of Benjamin's youth. His mother was from the Folger's Coffee estate, but that did not mean that they were well off. Josiah was a candle and soap maker and vendor, and apprenticed Benjamin at an early age.

Ben went to Latin school and eventually flunked. It appears as if Benjamin was not a serious student and was not open his parent's idea of going to the clergy and becoming a part of the church. Instead at 17 years of age, he ran off to Pennsylvania and start fresh in the city of Philadelphia. What did he do once he got there? Find out next week when part 2 of this trilogy plus one continues.


Picture Citation:

http://www.nyu.edu/public.affairs/images/photos/uploads/Ben-Franklin-2.jpg

Works Cited: Franklin, Benjamin, eds. The Way to Wealth, The Autobiography. New York, New York. W.W. Norton Anthology of American Literature. 2007.