Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin Franklin)
There is an omnipotent great man in America. Many scholars call him "American sage" and "father of American revolution". He's Franklin. Most students just know that he is a scientist in the story of flying kites and conducting electricity. However, you may not know that he was a pioneer, industrialist, scientist, writer, politician, diplomat and one of the leaders of the American revolution in the18th century. Revising the American Declaration of Independence, his achievements in life are almost incomparable to those of his contemporaries. You must think that he is an unparalleled genius. In fact, he was just a printer who went to primary school for two years and then dropped out to work as an apprentice in a printing factory. ...
Father's little helper
Franklin 1706 was born in Boston, USA. At that time, the United States was still a British colony.
Because there are many brothers and sisters in the family, the father can't afford many children to go to school, so Franklin's brothers entered all walks of life very early and learned from their teachers. At that time, nothing was more important than being able to learn a skill and support the family. So Franklin went to school, but at the age of 10, he started to be a small helper in his father's business, running oil candles. The manufacture of soap. Franklin's father was a versatile and strong man, who was gifted in painting, music and machinery. He often shows profound insights and correct judgments when dealing with some things. He often invites local wise men to his home to discuss many social and life problems. Under such circumstances, Franklin developed the virtues of kindness, integrity, prudence and constant knowledge from an early age.
As a result of growing up in coastal areas, Franklin liked the sea since he was a child, and he was very good at swimming and boating, so he was in good health, which made him seldom get sick in his life. When he was a child, his biggest dream was to go sailing, so his father took him with him for fear of leaving home to go sailing. He often took him to see some excellent craftsmen's work, hoping to fix his interest in a certain industry on land. Because of this, Franklin was very clever and curious.
A printer's article
/kloc-when he was 0/2 years old, his brother James brought back a printing machine and a movable type machine from England. Encouraged by his father, Franklin began to be an apprentice to his brother (right: when Franklin was an apprentice) and studied printing. During this apprenticeship, he often found that he was poor in vocabulary and confused in grammar when writing letters or articles because he had never been to school. Once his father compared the contents of his correspondence with his friends, and accused him of being less clear in organization and elegant in wording. This made Franklin feel very sad, but he made up his mind to write this article well. So he began to read a lot of books and magazines, imitating the style of publications. His method is to remember the outline of the article in his mind first, then re-express it with his own vocabulary and grammar, and then compare it with the original text to find out his own shortcomings. Through constant reading, he persisted. His writing ability has advanced by leaps and bounds. Later, he anonymously contributed many articles to his brother James's New England newspaper. At that time, James's newspaper was very famous and sold very well. His brother thought he was a learned celebrity. Franklin was only 15, 6 years old.
Americans who drink water
In fact, Franklin and his brother often quarrel, on the one hand, because Franklin is young and energetic and often talks back to his brother; On the one hand, James was also very grumpy, and he always punched and kicked his apprentice brother until they finally broke up.
Franklin, who left his brother, was only 17 years old, and he was determined to start his own business. Franklin left his hometown and was penniless. He first found a printing job in Philadelphia. With excellent skills and serious attitude, he was gradually reused by his boss. At the same time, he also made some honest and studious people who were not necessarily rich, and discussed articles, poems and philosophy of life with each other.
Later, Franklin also went to England. He thought that he could get funding in the UK to realize his idea of starting a business, but because it didn't go well, he had to stay and work in the UK first. Most British printers are alcoholics, because they think drinking can enhance their physical strength. Franklin was different, however. He believes that dieting can make people clear-headed, quick-thinking and improve efficiency, so he not only gave up drinking, but also became a vegetarian. So the British in the factory ridiculed him as an "American who drinks water." Although Franklin drank water but didn't drink, he worked very hard and had the fastest typesetting speed, so he was always designated as an emergency, so his salary was particularly high.
A businessman with high moral standards
1726, Franklin returned to Philadelphia, USA. With his own efforts and talent, he not only has good printing technology, but also can make copperplate and movable type. In addition, his cultural level is divorced from that of ordinary printers. He can read, write and do things with his own opinions and ideas. More importantly, he formed his own set of moral ethics.
God always gives opportunities to those who are ready. Franklin started with a joint venture to open a printing shop and stationery store, and went to his own sole proprietorship. His business has also expanded from ordinary printing, public documents and electoral votes to printing paper money and running his own newspaper ... every day, he is often busy until evening 1 1. Diligence and hard work made Franklin pay off the venture loan quickly. He never fishes or hunts, and always reads books in his spare time. He loves his job, often delivers goods in person, keeps his word, and never defaults on what he promises others. Slowly, more and more people got to know Franklin. They knew that he was an honest and trustworthy businessman and cultural person with high moral standards. All people are willing to make friends or do business with such people.
Participation in the conduct of public affairs
With the support of many people, Franklin kept giving back to the society. At first, he set up a secret society, where members discussed topics such as morality, politics and natural philosophy with each other. The way of discussion is not to win, but to explore the truth. Due to its proper operation, the secret society later developed into other sub-societies, which lasted for 40 years and became a barometer of many political and social problems in Pennsylvania at that time.
Because members of secret societies often need to cite books as evidence when discussing topics, Franklin suggested that individual books should be gathered together to set up a library, and later derived a public plan to set up a public library, which was the originator of subscription libraries in North America.
1736 Franklin was elected secretary of the state legislature and officially entered politics, so Franklin shifted his focus to public affairs: organizing fire brigades, setting up fire insurance companies, donating money to build orphanages, setting up Pennsylvania Defense Union Company, setting up the University of Pennsylvania, and helping to open hospitals. 1753 served as postmaster general and prime minister of postal services in the United States. These achievements have educated the whole United States.
During the period of 1754, the representatives of North American colonies adopted the alliance plan drafted by Franklin, in which he put forward the slogan "No unity, no survival" and called on the colonial people to unite and fight for freedom.
1775, Franklin was elected as the representative of the second continental congress and participated in drafting and amending the declaration of independence.
1776, he sent a series of diplomatic missions to Paris on behalf of the United States, which successfully promoted the alliance between the United States and France.
Franklin became the governor of Pennsylvania on 1785, and was re-elected for three terms because of the trust and love of the people of the whole state.
1787 Participated in the American Constitutional Convention and worked hard to abolish slavery.
Scientific Achievement-Philadelphia Experiment
Franklin began to study electricity after seeing the experiment of Leiden battery in 1746. According to his point of view, the essence of lightning and triboelectrification is the same, so he observed, compared and analyzed lightning for a long time and found that they have many similarities: including luminescence, tortuous shape of colored light, conduction by metal, crackling sound and so on. So brave Franklin, ..........
1752 In July, Franklin and his son William did an experiment to connect lightning in a wooden shed with all sides open. First, he made a kite out of silk, tied a thin metal wire at the top and tied the kite with a long rope. At the other end of the rope, a ribbon is tied for insulation. Because people hide in wooden sheds, the ribbon stays dry and the other end of the ribbon is held in their hands. Hang a string of keys as a circuit breaker to avoid electric shock. When lightning struck the kite, their father and son saw the fiber on the rope stand up, and Franklin couldn't help reaching out and touching it. Suddenly, there was a spark between the fingertips and the keys, and his left side was numb. Franklin excitedly told his son, "This is electricity! ! 」
Later, Franklin sent a paper on the Similarity between Lightning and Electricity to the Royal Society, which was initially ignored by scientists at that time. Soon, French scientists attracted attention after successfully repeating this experiment in Paris, and were even invited to perform live by the then French King Louis XV. The European scientific community began to recognize Franklin's achievements, and accepted him as a member of the Royal Society and awarded him the copley Gold Medal. Because of Franklin's experiment, since then, many scientists have turned to the study of electricity, which indirectly opened the era of electrical research. It is worth mentioning that many scientists died unexpectedly when redoing this experiment. Franklin was lucky not to be electrocuted.
Other inventions
In addition to electricity, Franklin also published works on optics, heat and dynamics, and made contributions to botany, mathematics and chemistry. More strangely, he also studied the ocean Gulf Stream, measured its temperature and velocity in different places, and analyzed its impact on the climate.
His scientific inventions are also considerable: lightning rod is one of them (as shown in the picture on the left below).
Another important invention is the franklin stove, which improves the burning efficiency of stoves, saves a lot of firewood and brings great convenience to people in North America.
Franklin once cut two pairs of glasses in half and put them in the same frame because of presbyopia, which is what we now call "stupid glasses" (as shown on the right).
Franklin's brother John suffered from kidney calculi, so Franklin invented the first "catheter" to help his brother and benefit future generations.
During his tenure as postmaster, he invented the first "odometer" (as shown on the right) in order to know the route and distance so as to calculate the postage.
Who believes that all this comes from a person who has only studied for a few years?
Franklin's moral view
Franklin can be said to be a liberal or a Democrat. Although18th century religious thought still prevailed, he did not fully believe in the dogma in the Bible. He believes that the most important relationship between people is truthfulness, sincerity and honesty. What the Bible says is sometimes decided according to the specific situation, not blindly followed. He made a list of 13 virtues by himself, practiced them one by one in a step-by-step way, and encouraged them throughout his life. Teacher Xiao Guo arranges and extracts for students' reference:
Temperance-eat too much, drink too much.
Be careful-don't talk nonsense and avoid useless gossip.
Order-everything has a beginning and an end, and everything has an end.
Decisiveness-Decisiveness, not afraid to change easily.
Thrift-always thinking that material resources are only difficult, cherish every inch.
Diligence-cherish time and avoid wasting time.
Sincerity-concentrate on thinking and keep your word.
Integrity-no harm, no self-interest.
Moderation-be lenient with others and avoid going to extremes.
Neat clothes are always kept clean.
Peace-don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself.
Chastity-love yourself completely and cherish your reputation.
Modesty-don't be arrogant, be modest to others.
Is it really a genius?
1April 790 17, Franklin died of myositis. After reading Franklin's story, do you think he is really a genius? In fact, everyone who is diligent and successful is often called a genius by the world unconsciously. This "American saint" once said, "It is difficult to stand up with an empty bag", which proves that he has never stopped in his life.