Benjamin Franklin's 300th birthday is January 17, 2006.  As a founder of the first lending library in Pennsylvania, he helped to make books available to people who couldn't afford to purchase their own.  The Pottsville Free Public Library is proud to continue that tradition!  Below are web sites people of all ages will enjoy exploring to find out more about him. 

GREAT SITES FOR KIDS:

Ben Franklin: Glimpses of the Man – An excellent site from the Franklin Institute, with explanations of Franklin's contributions as an economist, inventor, statesman, and many other areas.  Kids should click on “Learn More About Ben!” and then “Frequently Asked Questions About Ben” to find out everything from where Ben went to school to why he thought the turkey should be the national symbol of the United States.

Benjamin Franklin House – View parts of the only remaining house that Franklin lived in, located near Trafalgar Square, London, England.  This site shows pictures of the house plus conservation efforts to turn it into a museum.

Ben’s Guide to U. S. Government – Brief information about Benjamin Franklin’s life as a printer, librarian, inventor, and statesman, plus a timeline of his life.

The Electric Franklin – The Independence Hall Association has created a site filled with games, biographical stories, pictures, videos, and quotes for all ages.  Read more about Franklin’s electrical experiments and some of the words he created to describe electricity.

GREAT SITES FOR ADULTS AND OLDER STUDENTS:

America’s Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention – This biography from the National Archives gives a fairly detailed history of Benjamin Franklin, highlighting most of his political life.

Benjamin Franklin: An Extraordinary Life, An Electric Mind – Companion site to the PBS series; explore the timeline, check out the “Ben A to Z” to find some of his many descriptions, read about his theories related to health, or find out some of the many ways he has influenced how we do things today.

Benjamin Franklin Invents the Glass Armonica – One of Franklin’s loves was music, and this page explains how he combined music and invention to create a new musical instrument.

Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary – Highlights events in the Philadelphia area relating to Benjamin Franklin’s birthday; also has lesson plans for teachers to use in connection with the exhibit.

Ben Franklin Web Portal – This portal limits searches to web pages specifically about Benjamin Franklin, providing access to Franklin’s writings and quotes, sites that explore his research, and a collection of resources for teachers.

Invention Dimension – Benjamin Franklin was not only a Founding Father, he is also considered one of the first American inventors.  This page from MIT focuses on the “Franklin stove.”

Writings of Benjamin Franklin – This is a collection of links to things written by Benjamin Franklin, from a          variety of websites and on a variety of topics.  Included here are links to versions of Poor Richard’s Almanack, from 1733 to 1759; letters and scientific observations, and his last will and testament. 

GREAT SITES FOR RESEARCH AND PRIMARY SOURCES:

Benjamin Franklin Collection at Bartleby.com – This page provides links to the Columbia Encyclopedia entry for Benjamin Franklin, as well as links to fulltext versions of some of his writings.  For an extensive biography and discussion of his life, go down the page and click on “Franklin” under “Writings About Franklin” for the chapter from the Cambridge History of American Literature.

Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents – View pages of Thomas Jefferson’s “original Rough draft” of the Declaration of Independence, complete with editorial changes made by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams.

Letters of Delegates to Congress – What was Benjamin Franklin doing during the years 1774-1789?  This Library of Congress site can partially answer the question.  Click on “Browse,” pick a range of time, and scroll through the page to read some of Benjamin Franklin’s letters.

Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics – Check out 2 writings by Benjamin Franklin from 1754 that later influenced the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States:  “Albany Plan of Union” and “In Defense of a Plan for Colonial Union”.   

For more Information contact the library.

Pottsville Free Public Library

215 West Market Street, Pottsville PA 17901

570-622-8880

Last Updated January 10, 2006. 

Send comments to: potref@iu29.org