DID YOU KNOW?
Benjamin Franklin had 19 inventions and achievements
In 1757, Franklin traveled to London as a representative of the Pennsylvania
dismissed him from the job in 1774 because he was deemed too sympathetic to colonial interests. In July 1775, the Continental Congress appointed Franklin the first postmaster general of the United States, giving him authority over all post offices from Massachusetts to Georgia. He held this position until November 1776, when he was succeeded by his son-in-law.
In 1748, Franklin, then 42 years old, expanded his printing business throughout the colonies and became successful enough to stop working. Retirement allowed him to concentrate on public service and also pursue his longtime interest in science. In the 1740s, he conducted experiments that contributed to the understanding of electricity and invented the lightning rod, which protected buildings from fires caused by lightning. In 1752, he conducted his famous kite experiment and demonstrated that lightning is electricity. Franklin also coined several electricity-related terms, including battery, charge, and conductor.
Now, in addition to electricity,
In 1754, at a meeting of colonial representatives in Albany, New York, Franklin proposed a plan for uniting the colonies under a national congress. Although his Albany Plan was rejected, it helped lay the groundwork for the Articles of Confederation, which became the first constitution of the United States when ratified in 1781.
Franklin studied several other topics, including ocean currents, meteorology, causes of the common cold, and refrigeration. He developed the Franklin stove, which provided more heat while using less fuel than other stoves, and bifocal eyeglasses, which allow for distance and reading use. In the early 1760s, Franklin invented a musical instrument called the glass armonica. Composers such as Ludwig Beethoven and Wolfgang Mozart wrote music for Franklin’s Armonica; however, by the early part of the 19th century, the once-popular instrument had largely fallen out of use.