Benjamin Franklin

Palomar · 2004-02-02 18:00:15

*Free Chat: Off-Topic Discussion of Anything and Everything...that's got to include good old Ben.

In November 2002 I happened to see a 7-hour long documentary on PBS about Benjamin Franklin's life (televised in 2 parts). I took extensive notes, and shared the information with members of my "Age of Voltaire" list from 11/02 to roughly 04/03.

That's been some time ago, the posts are still there, so why not share it here? By the way, I'm -not- an expert on Franklin's life by any means.

**ALSO: Despite religion being mentioned relative to his life...please, I'd prefer this thread -NOT- swerve into discussions on religion in and of itself, etc. -- thank you!**

Here goes (in segments):

I will share my notes in the order that I took them, i.e. in the
order of the program content:

On December 23, 1770, Franklin was amusing himself and a group of
friends by conducting an experiment in an enclosed building with
electrical shocks. A turkey was waiting in a cage; they were going
to attempt to build up enough of an electrical charge to try and kill
the turkey; they'd already managed to kill a pigeon in this manner.
Franklin [uncharacteristically, I presume] allowed his attention to
wander for whatever reason, didn't realize he was still holding the
negative wand and that the charge continued to build, then POP! He
was knocked to the floor.

Regarding vanity, Franklin praises it: "Vanity is one of the
comforts of life."

Franklin was born in 1706. A mere 15 years before his birth, the
disgrace of the Salem Witch Trials had occurred.

It was believed by religious people that a house/building struck by
lightning had been willed so by God himself. The fire brigade would
rush to protect surrounding structures from burning, but would *not*
attempt to save the stricken one; to do otherwise, it was believed,
was to interfere with God's will. When Franklin invented the
lightning rod, he was criticized by the clergy; they accused him of
wishing to interfere with God's will. Franklin replied that people
put roofs over their heads and otherwise sought shelter from hail
stones...so what's the difference? The grumbling stopped. More
about the invention of the lightning rod as I progress through my
notes...

Franklin's father wished for Benjamin to become a minister. Their
faith was that of Calvinist Puritanism. A key doctrine in this faith
was "predistination," which meant that some people were picked to go
to heaven and others destined for hell; it was entirely God's choice
as to who would go where, and the individual could do nothing
whatsoever about it. Franklin's uncle gave him a multi-volume set of
sermons to read.

The young Benjamin Franklin was intrigued by the sermons of Cotton
Mather, who preached that one glorifies God by doing good for one's
fellow man. Though Franklin was later to become a freethinker, he
continued to be a humanitarian and philanthropist throughout his
life. As a young man, Franklin went to Cotton Mather's home and
visited him there. While walking from one room to another Franklin,
not seeing a low ceiling beam, smacked his head on it. Mather kindly
told him that should he learn to watch how high he holds his head throughout his life, it would help him avoid painful thumps.

As a child, Franklin helped in his father's business. He helped to
mold candles, trim wicks, etc.

Franklin was attracted to the ocean from childhood. In his boyhood
he read a book authored by a Frenchman named Thevenot, who wrote a
book -- complete with illustrations -- on how to swim. Franklin,
still a boy, set about following the illustrations and carefully
reading the instructions; he learned to swim, and became a good
swimmer. He also proved to be a good kite-flyer as a boy; when he
had some leisure time in the summer he would get a kite flying, walk into
a lake or pond, and then float on his back and allow the
kite to pull him through the water.

In his brother's print shop, as a teenager, controversial and non-
religious material becomes available to Franklin. During meals he
would read these materials and take notes on them, thereby furthering
his self-education. These materials exposed Franklin to modes of
thinking he'd previously been unaware of, and assisted in his
becoming a freethinker.

James Franklin, Benjamin's brother, became one of the first persons
to start a newspaper in the American Colonies; it was named "The New
England Courant." Benjamin worked for his brother...and he also
began, at the young age of 16, to write letters to the editor [James]
by the name of "Silence Dogood" -- who portrayed herself as a middle-
aged widow. "Silence Dogood's" letters were full of progressive, and
sometimes controversial ideas; for instance, she promoted better
educational opportunities for girls. James never suspected it was
his little brother writing under a pseudonym. "Silence Dogood"
created quite a stir among the readers of the Courant; with her wit,
maturity, and wisdom, many folk wondered if one of the middle-aged
widows they personally knew could be her!

[http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/dogood.html]http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/dogood.html

[http://www.historycarper.com/resources/ … ntents.htm]http://www.historycarper.com/resources/ … ntents.htm

[http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html]http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html

The 3rd link relates information regarding another pseudonym used by
Franklin, i.e. "Polly Baker" who addressed instances of social
injustice against women, particularly the social stigma applied to
mothers out of wedlock.

Eventually Benjamin confessed to James that he'd written the "Silence
Dogood" letters. It wasn't related in the video documentary what
prompted Benjamin to make the confession. James, of course, was
angry. Besides being a brother, he was also Benjamin's employer and
thus master -- and when he felt the occasion merited, would beat
Benjamin.

After the "Silence Dogood" episode, Benjamin ran away to New York.
Two years later he went to England for the first time, at age 18.

Franklin was rather "wild" in his youth and later remarked on his good fortune at
never having contracted a social disease. He also, at some point,
fathered a child with one of these women and took responsibility for
the child [as he believed fathers of illegitimate children should do,
i.e. the onus shouldn't be solely on the mother].

In England, Benjamin works as a pressman and typesetter. He begins
to frequent coffeehouses, and it is here that Benjamin "officially"
meets the Enlightenment. For centuries the predominant philosophical
thought regarding the place of man in the universal scheme of things
was that all men are victims of fate; one must resign oneself to his
or her unchangeable, inadvertent lot in life. The Enlightenment
completely rejected this notion; Enlightenment thought believed that
men and women could be masters of their own lives and were not slaves
to "fate" -- that one CAN change one's life and one's circumstances
in life. Benjamin agreed.

--Cindy

(...to be continued...)

Byron · 2004-02-02 18:35:00

Excellent post, Cindy...

Very informative...I wish I had seen that documentary...

B

Shaun Barrett · 2004-02-02 18:44:05

I'm with Byron!
I gotta hand it to you, Cindy. When you take an interest in something, you really take an interest!! I admire your energy and enthusiasm.

Palomar · 2004-02-03 06:19:20

*Thanks Byron and Shaun. The documentary was rebroadcast on PBS last summer, IIRC (I'm not sure they have a "shop" online...).

Franklin returns to New England in 9/23/1726. He spent two lonely
months at sea. Of course, Franklin was a genius, and though he
could -- and would -- converse with just about anyone, he surely very
much missed intellectually stimulating conversation...which he
probably didn't get much, if any, of with his shipmates. This two
months of loneliness reinforces to Franklin that humans are social
creatures. Being at sea makes Franklin hate solitude. It is during
this time that he vows to himself to change his life and put it in
order.

Upon returning home, Franklin makes two resolutions which he holds
steadfastly to: 1) To be frugal until his debts were paid and 2)
apply himself to industry and business.

Franklin and a few friends create "The Junto," a society of members
who engaged in what today could be called "networking." The Junto
was a society of individuals dedicated to advancing themselves as
businessmen primarily, and also giving assistance to other members.
Their first objective was to talk with established businessmen and
ask questions to discover why this business venture had succeeded,
why others had failed, what mistakes did the businessman being spoken
with regret most, etc.? The members of The Junto wanted to learn as
quickly as possible what mistakes to avoid and what likely-winning
strategies to employ. They engaged in formal (and perhaps informal)
debates of all sorts, speaking exercises, etc.

Franklin sets up his own print shop. He realizes that ::image:: is
very important to one's reputation. To that end, he makes sure he is
seen pushing big, heavy loads of paper for his print shop in
cumbersome hand carts. He wants his reading public and clients to
see that he is a determined, strong, capable young man who doesn't
hesitate or disdain to shoulder a burden. But this was more than
just image-making, for Franklin was industrious and hard working; he
made deliberate use of image as a reinforcer for this fact.

In 1730, Franklin marries Debra Reed. He is already the father of a
male child born to a "low" woman. Franklin, however, believes that
fathers should be as accountable and responsible for the rearing and
upbringing of children as their mothers -- and he does right by this
child. Mrs. Franklin is a "practical wife" -- and the admiration is
mutual.

Franklin purchases the "Pennsylvania Gazette." He becomes its
publisher, editor and chief writer. Besides penning serious news
articles, Franklin also wrote fictional stories. He would sometimes
deliberately sensationalize his articles. Franklin also related
gossip, and used "pen names" (pseudonyms) to write opposing "letters
to the editor" regarding a news article. He would sometimes then
create yet another pseudonym to "respond to" a letter by a previous
pseudonym, and thereby debate with himself in the Gazette. I believe
Franklin did this in order to provoke his readers to think, by
presenting contrary viewpoints for them to read and consider
regarding a particular topic or issue. I don't believe Franklin did
this to play games or simply to amuse himself (my opinion).

In his mid-20s Franklin began writing and producing "Poor Richard's
Almanack." Most folk of the time, of course, were poor and just
barely literate. They could not afford many books, so Franklin
endeavored (successfully, of course) to create a yearly booklet
comprised of "helpful household hints," weather forecasts, words of
wisdom, agricultural advice, animal husbandry, articles on health and
hygiene, and the like. Poor Richard's Alamanack was useful and
practical, and Franklin worked to ensure every purchaser got his or
her money's worth.

He wrote "The Way to Wealth." It has -never- been out of print.

By age 35, Franklin was the wealthiest man in Pennsylvania. He felt
the greatest proof of success is the ability to give back to the
community and to others; it "brings felicity." He becomes benefactor
to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was growing, and with the increasing population came
increased sanitation problems. The city was growing dirty. One of
Franklin's working creeds was "Small improvements to daily life." He
and "The Junto" created a volunteer fireman company; created the
first public library; founded a hospital; founded a college which
later became the University of Pennsylvania; and worked (and
succeeded) at paving and lighting the streets of Philadelphia. The
concept of actively working to make life better for ordinary people
was something new, and was Franklin's own special "Enlightenment
movement." He never saw a problem he didn't try to solve. There was
the Benjamin Franklin wood-burning stove. When Franklin was in
charge, the U.S. Postal Service made its -only- profit ever. He
worked on developing dripless candles, a 3-wheeled clock, and of
course invented the lightning rod (which he refused to patent and
thus draw profit from; he said it was his gift to humanity).

In "leisure time," Franklin would do math problems (for instance, if
sitting in a foyer awaiting an appointment with someone) or he would
think of improving inventions. He would sketch, draw geometrical
designs, etc. Always, his fruitful mind was busy.

At age 42 Franklin quits the newspaper business. He wishes to
devote himself entirely to science. "Science is exploration," he
said.

*I couldn't agree with that last line more.

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2004-02-03 06:44:50

I don't just envy him his creative mind, I envy him the time he lived in (in some ways) because there was so much freedom and scope for innovation.
What an incredible human being!

Palomar · 2004-02-04 06:19:35

Electricity! Studying the characteristics of electricity,
performing experiments with it, etc., becomes an all-consuming
passion for Franklin. He has a machine which can generate enough of
an electrical charge to either knock someone off their feet (himself;
refer to Part 1) or simply to engage in the following (and very
popular) amusement: Franklin's experiments drew crowds. He would
instruct visitors and curiosity-seekers to stand in a ring and hold
hands. He would work up a small electrical charge on his machine and
release the shock, the current of which would run through each
participant's hand, causing the entire group to laugh.

Franklin, as mentioned, made extensive notes regarding the
characteristics of electricity. He noticed, while generating a
charge on his machine that when he touched a knuckle to the wand, the
electrical charge was always the same color, had a metal attraction,
and made a slight cracking sound. He soon came to try his famous
kite experiment, which was documented by a man named Joseph
Priestly. Franklin, as we know, attached a key to a kite, and flew
the kite up into thunder clouds. When lightning appeared in the
cloud, Franklin put a knuckle to the key -- and there was the same
color of electrical discharge and cracking sound as that produced in
his laboratory. Franklin then proved to himself and the world that
the charged sparks he produced in his laboratory had the same
characteristics as lightning, i.e. electricity.

As mentioned previously (Part 1), Franklin created the lightning
rod, in order to protect homes and other buildings from lightning
strikes. He refused a patent for his invention; it was his gift to
mankind.

At age 47 Franklin won a medal comparable to today's Nobel Prize for
science. Unfortunately, the TV documentary was progressing very
swiftly at this point, and I was unable to catch the name of the
prize or the society/institution which granted it.

In the winter of 1755, Franklin met, through a chance encounter
while visting other friends, a life-long friend named Katherine Rey,
or "Katie." She was 25, he 50; she was in love with him and Franklin
admitted this "fascinating flirtation." But that is all it was;
Franklin was devoted to his wife, Debra. He was happy to be a father
figure to Katie, and when she sent him some sugared plums -- which
she wrote she made with her own hands -- Franklin wrote a note of
thank you and assured her that he and Mrs. Franklin would both enjoy
the fruit of her labor. Franklin truly respected and liked
Katie; the narrator of the documentary assures us that Franklin
respected women's intelligence. Franklin & Katie corresponded until his death.

Though the documentary skimmed quickly over exacting details, we
next find Franklin being sent to England on official business at age
51, thanks to the Pennsylvanian authorities. Franklin wished for his
entire family to accompany him; son William (born of another woman),
Debra and their daughter Sally. However, Debra was afraid of ocean
travel and refused to go; she and Sally remained in America. William
accompanied his father.

In the summer of 1757, William (age 27) and his father arrive in
England. Franklin fell in love with England; he purchased new
clothing and the latest style of English wigs for himself and William
(again, image was very important to Franklin). He felt it imperative
that he and William look like the gentlemen they were. Franklin also
joined 60 dinner clubs; he said he never wanted to be without a
hearty, hot meal. He also indulged an interest in geneaology.

One of the reasons for Franklin's being sent to England by the
Pennsylvanian authorities was to encourage the Penn family to give up
its feudalistic ways; they were not required to pay taxes. Franklin
asked Thomas Penn to please begin paying taxes. This went over like
a lead balloon, of course; Mr. Penn was an aristocrat and, to Penn's
mind, Franklin was a "nobody." Penn refused to pay taxes. Franklin
called Penn "a swindler."

Franklin developed a trick he enjoyed demonstrating before a
small "audience" of friends and acquaintances. He would fill a
bamboo cane with oil (without the knowledge of his friends) and lead
them to a pond or other small, enclosed body of water on whose
surface there were at least constant, noticeable ripples. Franklin
would stand at water's edge at the halfway point of the pond, with
his back to his companions, and raise his arms -- holding the bamboo
cane aloft in his right hand. Very soon, a minor "miracle" occurred -
- the surface of half the pond became entirely smooth, while the
other half remained rippled. Unseen by his companions, as he held
the bamboo cane aloft, the oil within it streamed out onto the pond,
thereby "dividing" the pond with oil; the oil traveled in one
direction, coating and smoothing the surface of that portion of the
pond. He demonstrated this trick while in Great Britain. It was
interesting to watch the actor in the video documentary re-enacting
Franklin's movements -- it surely looked like a "miracle."
Interesting fellow, that Mr. Franklin.

Franklin traveled to Scotland, where he met David Hume.

It was noted by his friends and colleagues that Franklin could as
easily talk with and establish a rapport with ordinary people as with
his intellectual colleagues, and that this was a genuine quality.

At Saint Andrew's University in Scotland and at Oxford in England,
Franklin is granted honorary doctorates.

As time passed during his stay in Great Britain, he and Debra came to
miss each other very much. Their letters to one another were usually
addressed to "My Dear Child." Franklin also referred to his wife
as "Debra the Devoted," and credited her with keeping their interests
together in America during this time.

1762: Franklin had been in London for 5 years. The video
documentary moved very swiftly at this point, and I was only able to
jot down salient points; however, I'll be discussing Franklin in more
depth at a later date, given that I own his Autobiography and Carl
von Doren's Pulitzer-Prize winning biography about Franklin. We'll
flesh out the more indepth matters later. Franklin befriended an
advisor to King George, and through this man was able to secure the
New Jersey govenorship for his son, William, who now bore the
title "Royal Governor." William Penn, Franklin's nemesis, and other
aristocrats were outraged and declared the younger Franklin's
governorship "a Colonial American coup." Benjamin Franklin hopes his
son's appointment as New Jersey Royal Governor will glorify England,
and he believes the future between America and England to be bright.

1765: Franklin is still in London. The Stamp Tax has been forced
onto the American Colonies, creating outrage. The Colonists already
felt taxed to death; now they were required to pay tax for every
piece of postage! Franklin misjudged the ire and anger of his fellow
Colonists...but of course, he was still in Great Britain, 3000 miles
away from the storm. Franklin is blamed by the Colonists for the
Stamp Tax because he had, unwittingly, made a mistake in recommending
John Hughes as Postmaster for the Colonies. The Colonists were so
convinced the Franklin was -the- cause for blame in this matter that
an angry mob formed and marched for his home. Of course, only Debra
was there. Friends warned her of the approach of the angry mob, and
pleaded with her to leave the house and flee with them. Debra
refused, saying "Ben and I have done nothing wrong." She got out her
guns and ammunition, obtained extra ammunition from her friends,
barricaded the doors and windows, and faced down the mob.
Fortunately no one was harmed, and no mention was made in the
television documentary of Debra having to fire any ammunition
either. She wrote Franklin of this incident; he was even more
impressed with his beloved wife and praised her resolve to protect
their property.

Franklin was, of course, greatly alarmed by the anger of the
Colonists over the Stamp Tax, and acted swiftly against it; he feared
his political ruin in doing so, but knew he must take a stand against
it. Franklin went before Parliament and pleaded the American
viewpoint to them. Parliament, shockingly, repealed the Stamp Tax.
Franklin's reputation in America soared; he was venerated as a hero.

During this time Franklin develops the Glass Armonica (refer to
Archives; we have discussed this before). He enjoyed music, and
rightfully observed that if you put a message in a song, people will
much more easily remember the message.

1771: Franklin is greatly troubled with gout; it would continually
afflict him during his elder years. He begins writing his
autobiography. Debra wants him to come home -- he has been in Great
Britain many years now. William Franklin had returned to America
years earlier, of course, to assume his position as Royal Governor
of New Jersey. William was becoming uppity and snooty about his
position. Franklin begins his autobiography as a letter to his son,
encouraging him to recall where they came from -- poverty and
obscurity; in other words, be more humble.

Franklin expressed his belief that humanity of makes itself suffer
because of false values.

--Cindy

(...to be continued...)

Byron · 2004-02-04 06:30:59

I sure hope they repeat this documentary on PBS sometime..lol..

Keep up the great work, Cindy...this is fascinating stuff!

B

Michael Bloxham · 2004-02-05 05:19:47

Hey Cindy! I just read part 1 of your notes on Ben Franklin (I'm a slow reader), and felt immediately compelled to reply. As some famous man said (I never remember peoples names...) 'If there's one thing we've learned from history, It's that we don't learn from history.' or something along those lines... (It's half-past midnight). This sentence has really helped me to realize the shear amount of knowledge and wisdom that can be gained from reading the exploits and adventures of other people. And I have to say Ol' Ben is certainly one of my favorite characters from which to glean wisdom.

Thanks again for your prodigious (for lack of a better word) post!

Palomar · 2004-02-05 07:24:45

*Thanks Byron and Michael.

Here's the last of the material. The documentary skipped over a lot of Franklin's involvement in the Revolutionary War (probably because it is so well documented in books, internet, etc.). The documentary did discuss a bit in depth Franklin's possible espionage activities in France, but the narrative went so quickly and the situations were so complex that I couldn't keep up even with my shorthand skills:

Debra had asked Benjamin to come home. He felt it was time to leave
England. On the way home, Franklin discovers the Gulf Stream. He'd
already twice crossed the Atlantic, and noted that the journey to
Great Britain from the Colonies was always weeks shorter and that,
conversely, a journey took weeks longer sailing from Great Britain
back to the Colonies. He says it is "A river of warmer water in the
ocean." I cannot recall how he came to this realization; the
narrative was moving rapidly in the documentary.

When he arrives home, Franklin finds his beloved wife is dead. The
Colonies are by this time at war with England. Bereaved, he accepts
a mission to go to France and seek French assistance for the Colonies
against the English. There are many details of Franklin's activities
over the period of years in France; again, the narrative ran so
quickly over so many small details that I could not keep up with it.
I'm sure we'll "fill in the gaps" in this regard with our later
studies.

Mouches and cosmetic applications by the French people are, of
course, noted by Franklin. He finds mouches are used to cover
smallpox scars. Franklin doesn't speak French well, but nevertheless he is
a sensation in France. He praises the French people for their warmth
and hospitality. He was delighted and surprised to find that his
favorite meals were taken note of by dinner hosts, and efforts were
made to provide him with favored foods. Society ladies flock around
Franklin; they are charmed by his unassuming nature, his refusal to
put on airs. His humble manners also endear him to nobility and
royalty. The smash hit of Franklin's however, was his fur hat. He'd
brought one with him, simply to keep his head warm. What a sensation
this caused! Everyone who could afford a fur hat from America wanted
one. Franklin wrote home, sending for as many fur hats as could be
provided. He is seen by his French friends as "a natural man" --
rustic, humble. He wears no powdered wig. His portrait soon appears
on many household items, including snuff boxes: Franklin in his fur
hat. The French loved him and the feelings were absolutely mutual.

Franklin continued to suffer from gout during his stay in France.
He berated himself for not getting enough exercise; it apparently was
a bit too tempting to sit chatting with pretty ladies when he wasn't
acting as diplomat and seeing to his duties as envoy for the American
Colonies to the French politicians. The documentary tells the viewer
that on one occasion Franklin sat beside a lady friend as she bathed
in the privacy of her rooms; he was in his 70s, she more than half
his age. But most of his time was spent toward his duties and
obligations of course.

When Franklin returns to America for the final time he requests, in
payment of his services as envoy to France, a tract of land and a job
for a grandchild. Congress refused to pay him anything. I was
shocked to hear this; how shameful. All of Franklin's expenses as
envoy to France (which lasted for a couple of years), came out of his
own pocket.

Franklin becomes more of an activist in his elder years; he refuses
to accept the status quo. He remains open-minded. He takes a stand
against slavery, encourages education for blacks and encourages their
freedom. He becomes President of the Abolistionist Society.

The 4 key elements of Franklin's philosophy were: Tolerance,
Compromise, Merit and Ability.

Franklin dies in 1790, at age 84. People of all classes attend his
funeral. France, upon hearing the news, goes into nation-wide
mourning.

The documentary ends by telling the viewer that perhaps the most
interesting thing about Franklin is "he never tells you he's a
genius."

--Cindy

P.S.:

A few comments by me regarding Franklin at my Yahoo! group, and some additional words of wisdom from Benjamin Franklin quoted below :

I was going to eventually share the following from Dale Carnegie's
book _How to Win Friends & Influence People_, wherein he shares the
following about Franklin:

"One of the finest things I know about Ben Franklin is the way he
accepted a smarting rebuke. He was big enough and wise enough to
realize that it was true, to sense that he was headed for failure and
social disaster [as a young man]. So he made a right-about-face. He
began immediately to change his insolent, opinionated ways:

'I made it a rule,' said Franklin, 'To forebear all direct
contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion
of my own. I even forebade myself the use of every word or
expression in the language that imported a fixed opinion such
as 'certainly,' 'undoubtedly,' etc., and I adopted, instead of
them, 'I conceive,' 'I apprehend,' or 'I imagine a thing to be so,'
or 'it so appears to me at present.'

When another asserted something that I thought in error, I denied
myself the pleasure of contradicting him abruptly and of showing
immediately some absurdity in his proposition: and in answering I
began by observing that in certain cases or circumstances his opinion
would be right, but in the present case there appeared or seemed to
me some difference, etc.

I soon found the advantage of this change in my manner; the
conversations I engaged in went on more pleasantly. The modest way
in which I proposed my opinions procured them a readier reception and
less contradiction. I had less mortification when I was found to be
in the wrong, and I more easily prevailed with others to give up
their mistakes and join with me when I happened to be right.

And this mode, which I at first put on with some violence to natural
inclination, became at length so easy and so habitual to me, that
perhaps for these 50 years past no one has ever heard a dogmatical
expression escape me. And to this habit (after my character of
integrity) I think it principally owing that I had earned so much
weight with my fellow citizens when I proposed new institutions or
alterations in the old, and so much influence in public councils when
I became a member; for I was but a bad speaker, never eloquent,
subject to make hesitation in my choice of words, hardly correct in
language and yet I generally carried my points.'"

***

Franklin and the fur hat that created a sensation:

My favorite image of Franklin:

***

[http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronic … nklin.html]PBS "Benjamin Franklin"

The videotape of the documentary is available for purchase via Amazon.com; it is entitled "Benjamin Franklin (2002)". A link to it can be found by searching Google with the words "PBS Benjamin Franklin" -- it will take you to a few links (including the above) and the direct link to Amazon.com for purchase.

Palomar · 2004-06-23 15:04:09

Franklins]http://www.spacedaily.com/news/physics-04t.html]Franklin's Squares

*Wow...a mathematically-oriented article I actually enjoyed. Wonders never cease. Good ol' Ben.

--Cindy

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