By Roshan Downey Sources: Discoveries/ 1. http://www.codecheck.com/cc/ BenAndTheKite.html Inventions. 2. http://www.sparknotes.com/ Benjamin biography/franklin/section5.rhtml 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Franklin Benjamin_Franklin  4. https://www.biography.com/people/ in- benjamin-franklin-9301234 vented eye- 5. www.factslides.com/s-Benjamin- Franklin glasses in 1784 6. www.benjamin-franklin-history.org/ facts/  At the age of 11, Benja- 7. www.bbc.co.uk/history/ min invented a pair of historic_figures/ franklin_benjamin.shtml swim fins. 8. www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ franklin-flies-kite-during-  He is most famously thunderstorm 9. mentalfloss.com/article/66551/true- known for his lightning story-behind-ben-franklins-lightning- experiment. For which experiment he invented the light- ning rod. Born in , Mas-  On the musical side of things, he also invent- sachusetts on the ed the harmonica 17th of January 1706. which was so popular He died in 1791. in Europe that Beetho- ven and Mozart made parts for it Source 3 Source 5

A Kite and a Key Childhood Political influence Benjamin’s father was In his later years—1748 to and English-born soap 1791—Benjamin Franklin and candle maker called became a politician and was the 6th president of Penn- . He and sylvania. On the 4th Octo- his first wife Anne Child ber 1748, he was elected to had 7 children and 10 the town council of Philadel- Benjamin Franklin is most famous more with his second for his kite and key experiment on phia. He was also appointed the 15 June 1752 in Philadelphia. (). Benjamin justice of the peace. The Benjamin and his son William man- learned to read at a early person who is responsible aged to attach a kite to a silk string age. Despite his success for making the laws. Benja- and then tied an iron key at the end. at Boston Latin school, he min quickly rose to power They tied a thin, metal wire to the and influence and on August key and inserted it into a Leyden jar stopped school at the 10, 1753, he was appointed which is a container for storing elec- age of 10 to work full as a deputy postmaster gen- trical charge. Connected to the key time in his cash-strapped was a silk ribbon. When the kite was eral of North America. Ben- in the air he retreated into a barn. father’s soap and candle jamin also wrote an essay When the storm cloud passed a neg- shop. At the age of 12 his arguing for unification. With ative charge onto his kite, to the key father apprenticed Ben at the essay he also published and was collected in the jar. Ben was the print shop, run by his a drawing a snake cut into holding a dry silk ribbon that insulat- piece. The caption under the ed him from the negative charges on brother James. In 1723 picture says “JOIN OR DIE”. the key. After he moved his hand he Ben flew Boston and It was probably America first received a shock because the nega- looked for another print- tive charges were strongly attracted political cartoon. After a er after his brother be- to the positive charges in Benjamin’s week of debate the so called body. Benjamin Franklin’s experi- came angry over the fact of Union was ment proved that lightning was in that Ben and penned his rejected and never came fact static electricity. letters to a newspaper. into being Sources: 1, 8 and 9 Sources: 2 and 4 Sources: 4, 7 and 2