Ben Franklin Art Exhibit

Did you know he?

*was the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge in Pennsylvania at the young age of 28.

*was so wealthy that he was able to retire at the age of 42.

*was the first to propose daylight saving time.

*designed the Franklin Stove.

*was an outspoken abolitionist and President of the Philadelphia Society for the Abolition of Slavery.

*owned his own newspaper- The Pennsylvania Gazette.

*invented the first flexible catheter for medical use.

*invented bifocals.

*printed currency utilizing an anti-counterfeit technique (leaves).

*loved music and invented the glass armonica.  He also played the harp.

*established the first subscription library in the world - Library Company of Philadelphia

*helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital

*elected President of the American Philosophical Society

*held extensive real estate holdings

*started the first Fire Department and formed the Fire Insurance Company

*was the only one to sign all four documents:  Declaration of Independence, the Treaty with France, the Peace Accord with Britain and the Constitution

*established the first street lights and the night watchmen corps in Philadelphia

*held at one time the largest private collection of books in America

*established with others the Academy for Education of Youth (present day University of Pennsylvania)

*received honorary degrees from the University of St. Andrews and Oxford University

*served as agent for several colonist governments in London

*taught himself 5 languages- French, Italian, Spanish, Latin & German

*has had his portrait on every $100 bill since 1928

*Noah Webster dedicated his first dictionary to Benjamin Franklin and 

*20,000 individuals paid their respects to him when he died in 1790.