Famous Philadelphians- Ben Franklin
One of the most well known Philadelphians was actually born in Boston Jan 17, 1706. Benjamin Franklin ran away to Philadelphia when he was 17 after leaving a printing apprenticeship without permission.
In 1727, Benjamin Franklin, at age 21, created the Junto, a group of “like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community.” The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day; it subsequently gave rise to many organizations in Philadelphia. The members created a library, and at first they pooled their own books together. This did not work, however, and Franklin came up with the idea of a subscription library, where the members pooled their monetary resources to buy books. This idea was the birth of the Library Company, and the charter of the Library Company of Philadelphia was created in 1731 by Franklin.
In 1733, Franklin began to issue the famous Poor Richard’s Almanac on which much of his popular reputation is based. Adages from this almanac such as “A penny saved is twopence dear”, “Fish and visitors stink in three days” remain common quotations in the modern world.
Franklin is also well known as being a prodigious inventor. Among his many creations were the lightning rod, the glass armonica, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and the flexible urinary catheter.
He also became very involved with politics, serving as justice of the peace, and elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly, an ambassador to France, and eventually, the President of Pennsylvania (ie governor).
Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at age 84. He was burried in Chirst Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, which you can still visit. It has become customary to place pennies on his grave.
As a tribute to Franklin’s legacy, the city of Philadelphia contains around 5,000 likenesses of Benjamin Franklin, about half of which are located on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Additionally, Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Parkway (a major thoroughfare) and Ben Franklin Bridge (the first major bridge to connect Philadelphia with New Jersey) are named in his honor. ALso founded in his Honor is the Franklin Institute on N 20th Street. (future post on the Institute to follow soon!)
For more information on Ben and his contributions, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
Ben Franklin, Famous Philadelphians, Philadelphia
July 26th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
[...] in central Philadelphia. It was originally named northeast park but was changed in 1825 to honor Ben Franklin. In its early years, the square was an open common used for grazing animals, storing gun powder [...]