Benjamin Franklin

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Benjamin Franklin

• Janine Mikasa
• LIS 612 / Fall 04
• November 16, 2004

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(No Transcript)
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Library
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Overview

• His early years
• Education
• Printers Apprentice
• Life in Philadelphia
• Junto
• His Library

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The Early Years (1)

• Born on January 17, 1706 to Josiah and Abiah
  Franklin in their home on Milk Street in Boston
• Was the youngest son of his fathers 17 children
• Was the 15th child
• Was the tenth son
• Brother Ebenezer died
• at 16 months in 1703

www.ushistory.org
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The Early Years (2)

• Loved to play with his friends in the Charles
  River
• Learned how to swim and taught his friends
• Tried to devise ways to swim faster
• Would invent the swimming fins

www.ushistory.org
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The Early Years (3)

• Family moved to a larger home when he was six
• Father was able to entertain interesting guests
• Uncle Benjamin came to live with them when he was
  nine

www.ushistory.org
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His Education

• Father wanted Ben to become a minister
• When Ben was eight, he was sent to the Boston
  Latin School
• Father changed his mind
• Was allowed to attend a writing and arithmetic
  academy for a year

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Printers Apprentice (1)

• Brother James was a printer and Ben was sent to
  be his apprentice
• Ben was 12 years old
• Helped to compose pamphlets and set type
• Sold the printed material on the street

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Printers Apprentice (2)

• Purchased The New England Current when he was 15
• The first newspaper in Boston
• Wanted to be a writer for the paper
• Invented Silence Dogood
• Relationship with brother begins to sour

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Printers Apprentice (3)

• Brother was thrown in jail and Ben took over
• When James returned he harassed and beat Ben
• Ben decides to run away

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Life in Philadelphia

• Ben arrives in Philadelphia, which he considers
  home for the rest of his life
• Found work as an apprentice printer
• Lives with the Read family and becomes interested
  in their daughter Deborah
• Asked by governor to go to London for fonts and
  printing equipment

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Life in Philadelphia (2)

• Begins his own printing business
• 1728 fathers an illegitimate son, William
• 1729 buys the newspaper Pennsylvania Gazette
• 1730 marries Deborah Read

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Poor Richards Almanack

• Creates the almanac in 1733

http//www.gettysburg.edu/tshannon/his341/pra1753
cover.htm
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The Creation of Junto

• Belonging to a club was the in thing to do
• Wanted to make life better for himself and those
  around him
• Created Junto (who-n-toe)
• A company of like-minded young men joined for
  companionship, for help in getting ahead, and for
  helping other Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians

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First Attempt at a Library

• The men needed their books for their discussions
• Ben had an idea to pull all their books together
  so that they were all able to access them
• Library failed because no one took care of the
  books

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A Subscription Library

• Decided to have a subscription library
• Needed fifty people to supply forty shillings
  with a promise of ten shillings more per year
• All of the directors came from the Junto but four

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Logan and Collinson

• John Logan gave Ben advice on what books to
  purchase for the library
• Peter Collinson donated many books to the library

http//www.phmc.state.pa.us/ppet/walking/page2.asp
?secid31
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Library Company of Philadelphia

• Started in 1731
• Became the model for libraries throughout the
  colonies
• Was a social library

http//www.librarycompany.org/instance.htm
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Library Company of Philadelphia

• Variations of the library that Ben started helped
  to give rise to our Public Libraries
• Still in existence today

http//www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/lib
rary.htm
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Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Eat Beef!
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Any Questions?
Contact Information inabata_at_hawaii.edu

• Thank you for your attention

Have a great day!