Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 04.djvu/194

 FRANKLIN

FRANKLIN

joiner; Hugh Meredith, printer. William Par- sons, Stephen Potts, George Webb, Robert Grace and William Coleman were the other members. In 1743 the club developed into the American philosophical society. Franklin carried on the printing business for twenty years, and in 1748 turned it over to Daniel Hall, his foreman. He was made clerk of the assembly of Pennsylvania in 1736, and postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737. His annual income up to 1747 w-as £3000, and for the next ei,^lit years he received £1000 per year for editing for Hall the Pennsiilvnnia Gazette and Piior Eichard. He was the founder of the first subscription librar}' in America, which he estab- lished in 1731 with fifty subscribers, the nucleus of the Philadelphia library. In 1733 he published the first number of his Almanac under the pen name of "Richard Saunders" and for twenty- five years Poor Bichard's Almanac averaged a sale of 10,000 copies annually. He was the working founder of the Philadelpliia hospital, and in 1749 established " an academy for youth," its trustees being incorporated by the provincial governor and its funds increased by donations from the mother country. This school grew into the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. His pamphlet " Plain Truths ■' published about 1743, led to preparations for the defence of Pennsylvania against the French and Indians and this timely warning greatly increased his popularity' as a publicist. He invented the open Franklin stove, which l^roved a household boon, and he refused to ac- cept a patent, preferring to give its use free of royalty. He organized the Union fire company of Philadelphia and was a member of the organi- zation for fifty years. He also instituted a night- watch and street lighting. In 1733 he began the study of languages and mastered the French, Italian and Spanish after which he took <jp the stud}' of Latin. In 1749 be published a paper en- titled " Opinions and Conjectures Concerning the Propenties and Effects of the Electrical Matter, and the Means of Preserving Buildings, Shijjs, etc., from Lightning, Arising from Experiments Made at Philadelphia, 1749," in which he demon- strated two facts — the power of points to draw off electricity without explosion, and the identity of electricity and lightning. This pajjer was sent to Europe in July, 1750. In June, 1752, he made the famous kite experiment which im- mortalized his name as a scientist, and his trea- tises contributed to European journals were collected in a volume, published in England and translated and published in France, Italy and Germany. He received the Copley medal from the Royal society of London in 1753, for his dis- covery. In 1 753 he was made postmaster-general of the American colonies in conjunction with William Himter. He was a deijuty from Penn-

sylvania to the congress of commissioners for tha several colonies assembled at Albany, N,Y.. m 1754, to devise means for common defence and to treat with the Six Nation Indians While en route he projected and drew up " a plan for the union of all the colonies under our government so far as might be necessary for defense and for other im- portant general purposes," which was adopted by the convention and referred to the colonies for their consideration, but which was rejected by Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and the matter ended for the time. He was agent of the Pennsyl- vania assembly of burgesses, at the English court, 1757-63, to determine the rights of the colonists as against the Penn family, then the proprietors of the province of Pennsylvania, but who refused to pay taxes or contribute to the de- fence of the province. The English privy coun- cil decided against the proprietors and Franklin, received for his services the thanks of the Penn- sylvania assembly. In 1764 the legislative assem- bly of which

he was speaker ^^^i2^ ' '• FRaaikli/m's

again sent him l''r':fc^^? pri/nti,

to England to petition the king to re- sume the gov- ernment of the jirovince and to protest against the passage of the obnoxious stamp aot. His stay' was pro- tracted from 1764 to 1775. Meanwhile the stamp act had been passed; his in- judicious recommendation of a suitable stamp- distributor for Philadelphia had shaken the faith of the colonists in his loyalty to their cause; l.is wife and daughter were advised to leave their home to escajie the violence of the mob who threat- ened to burn the house, and it was not until his in • fluence with the British parliament had procured the repeal of the stamp-act, March 18, 17G6, that confidence in his loj'alty to the colonies was re- stored. His wife had died Dec. 19, 1774, and the battles of Lexington and Concord had been fought before he transferred his battle-ground in behalf of the American colonies from English soil to that of his native land. While in London, after the cloud of his supposed disloj'alty to the colonists was removed, he was appointed agent for New Jersey, Georgia and Slassachusetts, virtually rep- resenting in Great Britain all of America. He fought strenuouslj' against the heavy taxes levied on the colonists and remained at his post till his friend Thomas Walpole, a member of the house