A talk with Ben Franklin: on his 300th birthday, Ben Franklin tours the National Constitution Center with Scholastic.Ben Franklin is famous for many things. The most well-known may be his experiments with electricity. Many people say that he "discovered" or even "invented" electricity. That's not what Franklin says! "I didn't invent electricity," he told me recently. "I investigated it." Yes, recently! I met Franklin at the National Constitution Center in his hometown home·town n. The town or city of one's birth, rearing, or main residence. Noun 1. hometown - the town (or city) where you grew up or where you have your principal residence; "he never went back to his hometown again" of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (pĕnsəlvā`nyə), one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bordered by New Jersey, across the Delaware River (E), Delaware (SE), Maryland (S), West Virginia (SW), Ohio (W), and Lake Erie and New York . (It was actually Ralph Archbold, a Ben Franklin re-enactor and expert on Franklin's life.) Besides experimenting with electricity, this great man invented bifocals bifocals /bi·fo·cals/ (bi´fo-k'lz) bifocal glasses. , the Franklin stove stove, device used for heating or for cooking food. The stove was long regarded as a cooking device supplementary to the fireplace, near which it stood; its stovepipe led into the fireplace chimney. It was not until about the middle of the 19th cent. , and the odometer odometer (ōdŏm`ĭtər), instrument provided in an automotive vehicle to indicate the total number of miles that have been traveled. (an instrument that measures distances). He also opened the first public library and founded the first volunteer fire department in America. Throughout his life, he had many different jobs. I asked him to name his favorite. "I'm a printer by trade," he said. "I've always been a printer. I shall always consider myself a printer." Elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1775, Franklin helped in the founding of this nation. He was on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and, in 1787, served as a delegate A person who is appointed, authorized, delegated, or commissioned to act in the place of another. Transfer of authority from one to another. A person to whom affairs are committed by another. A person elected or appointed to be a member of a representative assembly. to the Constitutional Convention. This year, the National Constitution Center is celebrating Franklin's 300th birthday (January 17). Their special exhibit, "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World," runs through April 30. It will then travel to other cities, including Paris, France. I asked Franklin how he wanted to be remembered. "If I'm going to be remembered at all," he said, "I would like to be remembered as someone who tried to make a contribution." After spending a few hours with him, I can tell you he did just that! |
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