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Born: January 17, 1706 - Boston, MA
Died: April 17, 1790 - Philadelphia, PA
| Excerpt from From the Autobiography, Chapter 1: |
y brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper...He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amus'd themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gain'd it credit and made it more in demand, and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the approbation their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but, being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to disguise my hand, and, writing an anonymous paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning, and communicated to his writing friends when they call'd in as usual. They read it, commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity. I suppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges, and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then esteem'd them.
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Teaching Topics in Social Studies
Benjamin Franklin was a renaissance man-an INVENTOR, a PRINTER, a POLITICIAN and foreign and domestic DIPLOMAT. He devoted considerable time and resources to improving CIVIC LIFE in his hometown of Philadelphia.
He served many years in the colonial legislature of Pennsylvania, a QUAKER colony. He was a POPULAR figure, both at home and in France and was skilled at using PUBLIC RELATIONS to accomplish his political goals.
Teaching Topics in Language Arts
Benjamin Franklin's career as a PRINTER underscored his appreciation for and skill as a writer. He infused much of his writing with HUMOR and became as well known as the APHORISMS he used in Poor Richard's Almanack.
| Scavenger Hunt |
| Who was Benjamin Franklin’s “Autobiography” originally written for?
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His AUTOBIOGRAPHY recounts his rise to financial success; the text is addressed to his son: offers advice on life and living, and is illustrated by stories-some exaggerated-from his own life.
| Facts About the Autobiography |
- Benjamin Franklin originally wrote his autobiography for his son William, Governor of New Jersey
- Original French title was "Memoires De La Vie Privee...,"
- The original English edition was entitled "The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin, LL.D....Originally Written By Himself, And Now Translated From The French"
- The original English translation was published in London 1793
- Benjamin Franklin ends his autobiography in 1757 when he was 51 years old
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