In late 1724, he traveled to London, England, and again found employment in the printing business. At age 17, Franklin ran away from his apprenticeship to Philadelphia, where he found work as a printer. By age 16, Franklin was contributing essays (under the pseudonym Silence Dogood) to a newspaper published by his brother. In 1718, at age 12, he was apprenticed to his older brother James, a Boston printer. Constitution (1787).įranklin’s formal education was limited and ended when he was 10 however, he was an avid reader and taught himself to become a skilled writer. Franklin was the eighth of Abiah and Josiah’s 10 offspring.ĭid you know? Benjamin Franklin is the only Founding Father to have signed all four of the key documents establishing the U.S.: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris establishing peace with Great Britain (1783) and the U.S. Franklin’s mother was Abiah Folger (1667-1752) of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Josiah’s second wife. His father, Josiah Franklin (1657-1745), a native of England, was a candle and soap maker who married twice and had 17 children. “Ben Franklin’s Song” takes this to the next level by imagining Franklin as being a bit (or a lot) more vulgar than any historical documentation would suggest.Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin’s Early Yearsīenjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in colonial Boston. “I am 76-and-I’ll-Still-Kick-Your-%$& Franklin”īenjamin Franklin has been credited for saying several things of which there is no historical record for him actually saying. WRONG: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DIDN’T TALK LIKE THAT While we can’t say for sure that he would have appreciated The Decemberists’ and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s take on his persona, we can certainly say that the inventor of the Glass Armonica had a bit of that 1760s indie sound and that Miranda’s belief that this was Franklin’s ‘sound’ (in a modern context) is potentially accurate. In his career, he was a writer, printer, diplomat, scientist and inventor. In our opinion, Benjamin Franklin’s wide variety of interests are not unlike today’s Austinites, Portlanders and Brooklynites. He'd said he imagined Ben's songs being Decemberist-y so he gave them to me and I wrote music for it!” The genesis of “Ben Franklin’s Song,” according to The Decemberists’ frontman Colin Meloy, “ had songs for Ben Franklin in Hamilton, but didn't end up using them. “I’m the only American the French wanna see. PROBABLY RIGHT: IF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WAS A MODERN MUSICIAN, HIS MUSIC WOULD HAVE SOUNDED LIKE THAT OF THE DECEMBERISTS In addition to his inventions that are mentioned in “Ben Franklin’s Song” ( Bifocal Glasses and The Glass Armonica), Franklin was behind the Lightning Rod, Swim Fins and the Franklin Stove among others. Polymath, bifocal-wearing, Hardened glass-harmonica-playing Benjamin Franklin”īenjamin Franklin was one of history’s most important inventors and one of the most influential engineers of the 18th century. RIGHT: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WAS A PROLIFIC INVENTOR The most well known are Silence Dogood, a middle-age woman whose letters were published in Franklin’s own brother’s newspaper, and Richard Saunders, a wise old man whose name graced the title of Franklin’s annual Poor Richard’s Almanack from 1732 to 1758 and houses of many of Franklin’s most famous quotations and is one of the most important pieces of literature to arise from Colonial America. “I am Poor-Richard’s-Almanack-writing Benjamin Franklin”Īt several times in Franklin’s life, he wrote under pseudonyms. RIGHT: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WROTE POOR RICHARD’S ALMANACK Over his career, his experiments in electricity led to a variety of technological advancements that have made modern life possible. “Electricity! Yeah, you can all thank me.”īenjamin Franklin was one of the earliests scientists to experiment with electricity, and while he did not discover electricity, he did a lot to harness its power becoming the first person to find that lightning was a form of electricity. RIGHT: YOU CAN THANK BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FOR ELECTRICITY NOTE: You can listen to “Ben Franklin’s Song” here, but it does include language that is definitely not suitable for work or around children. This song provides some great insights on Franklin’s accomplishments, so, here are 3 things that are correct about “Ben Franklin’s Song,” one thing that is probably correct and one thing that is decidedly incorrect. While our namesake and favorite founding father eventually found himself cut from the stage, this song provides some insights on the legacy of Benjamin Franklin, whose national memorial is housed within our museum in Philadelphia. On December 15, 2017, The Decemberists released “Ben Franklin’s Song,” the lyrics of which were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and originally intended to be used in the hit musical Hamilton.
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