B Benjamin Franklin Printer, Writer, Inventor, Statesman

Benjamin Franklin
Printer, Writer, Inventor, Statesman
B
enjamin Franklin was one of 17 children. With so many
mouths to feed, money was scarce, and his father, Josiah,
a candlemaker, hoped Ben would become a minister. But Ben
had a different idea. At a young age he became an apprentice
(helper who wants to learn a trade) to his half-brother,
who was a printer. After a time, he decided to move to
Born: January 17, 1706,
Philadelphia to start his own printing business. Hardworking,
in Boston, Massachusetts
dedicated, and very successful, Ben loved Philadelphia—and
Died: April 17, 1790, in
the city loves him to this very day. In fact, each January, the
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Franklin Institute, a science museum, throws a “Birthday Bash”
Famous for: being a
to celebrate Franklin’s life.
Founding Father, a man of
Ben Franklin accomplished so many important things in his
wisdom and many talents
lifetime that it’s difficult to list them all. Of course, he helped
write the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. He
also founded the University of Pennsylvania and served as deputy postmaster to the colonies.
His printing shop in Philadelphia published The Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s
Almanack, a book that contained some of Ben’s wise sayings. One of his favorites was “A penny
saved is a penny earned.” In honor of this famous adage, a bust of Franklin was made from
80,000 copper pennies collected by schoolchildren.
Franklin was also an experimenter and an inventor. Famous for flying a kite in a
thunderstorm, he proved lightning and electricity are the same thing. He invented the stove
that bears his name, which gives off more heat than a fireplace. Responsible for creating bifocal
eyeglasses, he invented them because he wanted to see both near and far. Credit Ben with the
rocking chair and the odometer (an instrument that measures distance traveled by a vehicle).
A library, a hospital, a fire department, and the American Philosophical Society were all begun
by Benjamin Franklin.
Franklin spent years in France, and he persuaded the French to support the colonists’
fight for independence. France helped in a big way with money and the use of its navy. When
Franklin died at the age of 84 in Philadelphia, 20,000 people went to his funeral. Many people
in France wore black armbands in mourning. By just about any measure, Ben’s life was a
successful one. Still, he had regrets. He broke relations with his son William, who supported
England and was against America’s independence. He also failed to get slavery outlawed,
although it was a cause he’d worked hard for. Nevertheless, Benjamin Franklin lived a full life,
and no doubt followed some of his own best advice: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man
healthy, wealthy and wise.”
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Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords
Name
Benjamin Franklin
1
3
2
4
5
7
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
DOWN
15
1.Benjamin Franklin
was born in
,
Massachusetts,
in 1706.
17
16
18
2.An
is a
wise saying, maxim,
or proverb.
3.Schoolchildren
donated 80,000
of Ben.
19
pennies for a bust
5.Ben Franklin proved lightning and
were the same thing.
6.Ben Franklin was apprenticed to his
half-brother’s
shop.
7.For a while, Josiah (Ben’s father) wanted him
to be a
.
8.Ben was one of
children.
ACROSS
1.The Franklin Institute has a “
Bash” each January.
4.One of Ben’s many activities was to be deputy
.
9.Ben was one of the authors of the Declaration
of
.
11.The
of Pennsylvania was founded by
Ben Franklin.
10.
supported the cause of our
independence with money and its navy.
12.“A penny saved is a
said.
13.The Franklin
than a fireplace.
15.Ben Franklin worked hard, to no avail, to
abolish
.
provided more heat
earned,” Ben
14.Ben published The Pennsylvania Gazette and
Poor Richard’s
.
17.An
vehicle.
16.When Ben was young,
his big family.
18.Benjamin Franklin wanted our country to be
independent of
.
was scarce in
measures distance traveled by a
19.Ben needed
(glasses that see near
and far), so he invented them.
Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources
25
Answer Key
BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN
(page 24)
Down:
1. Boston
2. adage
3. copper
5. electricity
6. printing
7. minister
8. seventeen
10. France
13. stove
14. Almanack
16. money
Across:
1. Birthday
4. postmaster
9. Independence
11. University
12. penny
15. slavery
17. odometer
18. England
19. bifocals
Comprehension-Boosting Crosswords: Famous Americans © Silvia Charlesworth, Scholastic Teaching Resources
59