Ben Franklin’s Birthday
Today we celebrate Ben Franklin’s Birthday!
Benjamin Franklin, one of our founding fathers, was born on January 17th, 1706 in Massachusetts. He is most famous for co-writing the Declaration of Independence and his research on electricity…but that’s not all!
Benjamin Franklin was in the printing industry throughout his life!
Ben Franklin worked for his older brother, James, at a print shop since he was 12 years old. He loved to write and print and that passion remained throughout his life. In 1724, he left for London to purchase supplies to buy a printing store; he ended up working at local print shops before he returned to the United States.
In 1728, Benjamin Franklin bought a shop that he then used to print paper money for Pennsylvania and Delaware. His printing shop also printed out election pamphlets, books and more. Only a year after acquiring his own print shop, he made enough money to purchase the Pennsylvania Gazette and grew the newspaper into the most successful newspaper among all the colonies! In 1730, Ben Franklin was deemed the official printer of Pennsylvania. Ten years later, he became the official printer of New Jersey.
