Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. He lived 85 years.
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Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S., was also a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
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Benjamin Franklin organised and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society. He was elected president in 1769.
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Benjamin Franklin wrote "Fart Proudly", a scientific essay about farts.
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Benjamin Franklin published a paper saying America's population growth was so fast, it would surpass Britain in 100 years. This alarmed British leadership and was a factor in their oppression of the colonies.
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Benjamin Franklin attempted to abolish slavery already in 1790.
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Benjamin Franklin was an advocate of "air baths", during which he would spend up to an hour reading or writing in his house completely naked.
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When Benjamin Franklin invented his own harmonica, it became so popular in Europe that Mozart and Beethoven composed music for it.
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Benjamin Franklin made 8 voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and was the first to map the Gulf Stream.
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Benjamin Franklin never patented any of his inventions. He reasoned that "we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
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At the age of 11, Benjamin Franklin invented a pair of swim fins. He was later recognized by his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
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Benjamin Franklin was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.
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Benjamin Franklin had a major influence on the emerging science of demography. He was also a pioneer in the study of slave demography.
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Benjamin Franklin received honorary degrees from Harvard and Yale universities.
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In recognition of his work with electricity, Benjamin Franklin received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1753.
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Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, begun in 1771 but published after his death, has become one of the classics of the genre.
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In 1734, Benjamin Franklin edited and published the first Masonic book in the Americas.
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"Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God" was Benjamin Franklin's suggested motto for the Great Seal of the U.S.
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Benjamin Franklin had an illegitimate son who remained loyal to the British and fled to London after the war. He stayed there for the rest of his life.
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In 1781, Benjamin Franklin attended a concert in which he narrowly escaped death when the opera house caught fire and burned.
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Benjamin Franklin's last words were,
"A dying man can do nothing easy."
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Benjamin Franklin lived his life by 13 rules which he called "the 13 virtues." He wrote them when he was 20.
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In 1785, Benjamin Franklin was the richest person in the United States.
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Benjamin Franklin proposed a phonetic alphabet that got rid of the letters C,J, Q, W, X, and Y, but the American public refused to adopt it.
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When the Declaration of Independence was being drafted, Benjamin Franklin suggested that the word "sacred" be replaced with "self-evident" because he believed that the nation should be founded on reason, not faith.
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Benjamin Franklin left the cities of Boston and Philadelphia $2,000 in his will, but they could not draw the full balance for 200 years. In 1990, the cities received $6.5 million.
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Benjamin Franklin invented a mechanical arm for reaching books on high shelves.
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