About This Lesson
Benjamin Franklin is one of the most well-known figures in American History. He is one of the Founding Fathers of our nation and accomplished many endeavors in his life. He was born in Boston, but life was quite different in the 1700s. He had sixteen brothers and sisters, and only went to school for two years! Even though he didn't have a formal education, Franklin loved to read and write. There were very few books in his time, so he formed a book sharing group with his friends. When he realized that everybody in the group wanted to take their books home, he started a library. Ben Franklin's Library, "The Library Company of Philadelphia," exists to this day. He also started a printing shop where he published his reflections on self-improvement and morality. He studied electricity and invented numerous tools, some of which are still in use today. Here are a few of his most famous inventions.
The Lightning Rod
In the 1700s, most buildings were constructed in wood. If the buildings were struck by lightning, they were at risk of catching fire. Franklin wanted to find a solution to this problem, so he invented a lightning rod. The lightning rod is made of metal, so it attracts lightning. You attach the rod to the top of the building and make sure that it is higher than the top of the roof or the chimney. Then, you connect a cable from the lighting rod to the underground. The lightning will travel from the rod, through the cable, and into the ground, avoiding the house entirely. Franklin discovered this by experimenting with a kite, a wire, a key, and a string. He attached a wire to the top of the kite, extended a hemp string from the wire, and tied a key to the hemp string. This arrangement allowed Franklin to feel sparks in the key during the lightning storm, and that's how he discovered that lightning is electricity. Franklin did not patent his inventions, but today when inventors like Franklin create a new product, they use a patent search service and create a patent, so people know who invented it.
Bifocals
Franklin was having difficulty with his vision, so he created bifocal spectacles or glasses as we now call them, which allowed him to see well up close and from a distance. He achieved this by cutting the lenses from two different pairs of glasses and putting them in the same frame. So, when you look through the bottom of the lens, your vision is adjusted to see things up close. Looking through the top of the lens lets you clearly see distant objects.
The Franklin Stove
Families heated their homes by burning wood in the hearths. At that time, fireplaces heated homes inefficiently and emitted a lot of smoke into the interiors of the building. He researched fireplace design by reading two books by Desagulier, a French immigrant to England. Franklin designed a stove made of metal, with a box at the back that circulated the air. He created the furnace to produce more heat with less wood and less smoke. The stove sold poorly until another inventor improved upon his design.
The Armonica
The Armonica is a musical instrument made of glass. People would produce sounds and music from rubbing a wet finger on the rims of wine goblets. Franklin created the Armonica in the spirit of that musical tradition. Watch this video to hear what it sounds like!
Benjamin Franklin's contributions to early American life were extensive. He was a printer, a writer, an inventor, the first Postmaster General, a statesman, and one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. He also authored the famous "Poor Richard's Almanac," from which many wise sayings of our culture originate like, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." His other inventions included a musical instrument, flippers for swimming, and an improvement on the odometer.
