Scenes from the life of Benjamin Franklin (1916) (14781762031)

Identifier: scenesfromlifeof00holm (find matches)
Title: Scenes from the life of Benjamin Franklin
Year: 1916 (1910s)
Authors: Holman, Louis A. (Louis Arthur), 1866-1939 Mills, Charles B
Subjects: Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
Publisher: Boston, Small, Maynard & company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation



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was at this time at least nine-teen, and, according to his father, something of a dandy. They went out to the outskirts of Philadelphia to theneighborhood, as nearly as can be ascertained, of what is nowSeventeenth and Callowhill Streets. There were no spires inPhiladelphia at that time, had Franklin preferred to try hisex-periment in a high place as he suggested in his letters toCollinson. The two took refuge from the rain in an old cow-shed. Frankhn attached a silk cord or ribbon to the kitestring, which, being a non-conductor, made a convenient thing (page 45) FKAVkTTX THE SCIENTIST to hold to. He brought the string in through the shed door,and attached it to the Leyden jar. which is to be seen on aboard at the left of the picture. They not only succeeded indrawing sparks from the string by touching their knucklesto a key which they fa5tened to it, / ^hey succeeded incharging the Leyden jar also. The kite experiment took place in lTo-2, when Franklinwas fortv-six vears old. .SS 4f
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-f. FRANKLIN THE PATRIOT: ABROAD A MASTER examined by a parcel of school-boys,is the way Burke aptly described Frankhns ordealin Parliament, February, 1766. This was at thetime of the Stamp Act agitation. The act, which consisted offifty-five articles, and imposed taxes on fifty-four classes ofobjects, had been proposed by George Grenville, and hadbeen passed the year before. Previous to this time, when England desired to raise moneyin America, it had been customary for the king to send circu-lar letters to the AssembHes of the colonies, setting forth theneed of assistance. Each Assembly appropriated what it con-sidered the colony could afford. Grenvilles idea that Parha-ment should tax the colonies, although the latter could sendno representatives to Parhament, was an unhappy one.Frankhn was in England as agent of the Pennsylvania colonyat the time of the passage of the Stamp Act, and did all inhis power to prevent it. But Parhament preferred compul-sion to the golden bridge of persu