Ben Franklin Change Seeker By Sam

Biography Ben Franklin was born on January 17th in Boston, Massachusetts. Benjamin Franklin married Deborah Read on September 1st, 1730. Ben and Debbie had a 3 kids William, Sarah and Frances Franklin. Ben had 16 brothers and sisters. He was an avid swimmer. He is the only founding father in the Swimming Hall of Fame.

Biography He went to school for 2 years. He was bad at arithmetic but he had good handwriting and good reading skills. He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He owned and published the Pennsylvania Gazette. He made a peace treaty with Great Britain. He founded the first public library.

Personal Qualities Ben Franklin took risks. One of his risks was to swim 3 miles to another island without stopping. He was on a bet. He was a funny man. He used his humor in all situations. He used laughter to reach the masses. His pieces “made em laugh” but also “made em think.”

Motivation Ben loved to read books. He read all the books from his family and all the books from his neighbors. He wanted to find out if lightning and electricity were the same thing. Instead of signing his name as Ben Franklin he was hiding his identity and writing his name as Silence Dogood.

Hardships Ben Franklin had a son named Francis who died when he was four. Deborah Franklin ( Ben’s wife) died of a stroke when she was 44 years old. Ben got beat up by his brother many times after his brother was released from jail. He did not like working for his brother. After a little while of working for his brother he ran away to Philadelphia.

Accomplishments Ben Franklin was one of the people to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was a great writer. One of his most famous newspapers is Poor Richards Almanac. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania. He is mostly known for discovering electricity. He founded the first public library and the fire department.

Interesting Information Ben Franklin ran away to Philadelphia. He was once on a bet to swim 3 miles in the Thames river. He founded many things such as: the first public library, the first hospital and the first fire department. Famous musician Mozart composed music for Ben’s glass harmonica. Two of his false names were Silence Dogood and Poor Richard Sanders.

Three questions I would like to ask my Change Seeker: What was it like to be so famous? How did your son Francis die? Do you know any other founding fathers in any hall of fame?