Although Benjamin Franklin was not a soldier, his diplomacy secured French support during the Revolutionary War. This biography gives the important facts about his life and his role in the War for Independence. Ben was born on January 17, , the tenth of seventeen children. As a child, his father planned for him to be a clergyman, but they were in no financial state for that to happen. Due to lack of money, Ben only ever attended one year of school.

Benjamin Franklin Timeline: January January 6, by "Old Style" reckoning. Blackbeard the Pirate is captured; Franklin writes a ballad on the occasion Moved away from home into a boarding house Stopped attending church so he could use Sunday to study At a Boston town meeting, Ben's father Josiah is chosen as a town scavenger for Brother James Franklin starts publishing The New England Courant Smallpox epidemic in Boston and controversy over vaccination Becomes "a thorough Deist" Becomes a vegetarian in part he is motivated by a distaste for flesh, but also because he can save money and buy more books. January Begins reading Plutarch, Defoe, and Cotton Mather Invents a pair of swim fins for his hands Briefly indentured as a cutler.

One of the foremost of the Founding Fathers , Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence and was one of its signers, represented the United States in France during the American Revolution , and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He made important contributions to science , especially in the understanding of electricity , and is remembered for the wit, wisdom, and elegance of his writing. Benjamin Franklin was born the 10th son of the 17 children of a man who made soap and candles , one of the lowliest of the artisan crafts.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. In all, Josiah would father 17 children.