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Poor Richard's Almanac
On December 19, 1732 Benjamin Franklin published the Poor Richard's Almanac.This was the his first almanac under the fictitious character Richard Saunders. This sold about 10,000 copies a year and was considered significant by other world leaders who translated it to different languages. -
Postmaster General
During the Second Continental Congress in 1775 the United States Post Office was established. Franklin was made it's postmaster general due to his experience. This postal system continues today but was changed to United States Postal Service in 1971. -
University of Pennsylvainia
Franklin was a primary founder of this institute. He served as the president of the school until 1755. Then he continued to serve as a trustee until his death in 1790. -
The Lightning Rod
In 1749, Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod. It's purpose was to protect buildings from dangerous lightning strikes. It was placed at the top of the building and the lighting goes into a wire that connects from the one at the top and goes into the ground. -
Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind
Franklin wrote this essay in 1751 on his concern about the population. He wrote about the growth and it's dependence on food supplies and it's limits. In this he wrote about his own life and it was later published into The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. -
Published the First Political Cartoon
In 1729 Franklin bought the newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette. He wrote pieces himself for it and his most famous one was the cartoon Join, or Die. This was important because it represented the nation's unity during the Revolutionary War. Each part of the snake is a state and it shows how if we connected them it would complete the snake referring to the nation. This newspaper remained popular till 1800. -
Stamp Act
Benjamin Franklin's testimony against this Act helped secure the repeal of it. He believed that colonists objected only to direct taxes, not to duties placed on imported goods. This enhanced his reputation in England and America. -
U.S. Declaration of Independence
Benjamin Franklin was elected to attend the Second Continental Congress. This is where representatives discuss their war efforts with Britain. Ben Franklin was one of the five people that signed it and wrote it up. Benjamin Franklin made several important changes to the document. -
Treaty of Paris
In 1783, Benjamin Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris which ended the American Revolutionary War which was a major event in U.S. history. This made Britain acknowledge us a independent states. -
U.S. Constitution
At this time Ben was 81 years old he participated in the Constitutional Convention and helped write up the U.S. Constitution and persuaded many to sign it. He supported the fact that representatives would be selected according to population. And the upper house or the Senate would have an equal amount of senators from each state.
