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On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. Within three years of its founding, that promotion took place through public lectures, a high school, a library, public exhibitions, and a research journal, and many of these endeavors remain core activities to this day... For the organization's first century, the Institute offered classes in mechanics, drafting, and engineering, and promoted science and invention. In 1930, despite the Great Depression, The Franklin Institute and the Poor Richard Club began to seek funds to...

I happened to notice that a biography of Benjamin Franklin was produced and published at Librivox. Thought you all might enjoy this. Benjamin Franklin, Robin McKown (1907 - 1975)This biography of Franklin was written for young people, but can be enjoyed by anyone. The author Robin McKown, is known for her young adult historical fiction and historical biographies. - Summary by Ciufi GaleazziThis audiobook is a solo, which means it is of a much higher quality than group books and yes, this reader did a fantastic job. However, it's free and open source so I would encourage you to give...

on the occasion of 100th anniversary At the founding of The Walt Disney Company, Walter Elias Disney’s image would be Allegedly Will be printed on US currency until June 2024. The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of The Walt Disney Company, however in 1923, the company did not look like it does today (in more ways than one-Read more about that here, One hundred years ago, in October 1923, the Disney brothers—Walt and Roy—opened the Disney Brothers Studio in California. From that little hole-in-the-wall studio, Walt’s beloved company grew and grew, and grew some more, and...

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which leftists now love to exploit to push critical race theory and pretend they honor the black heroes of American history. But in my research of recent years, I discovered dozens of black American heroes whose courage and sacrifice shaped this country and who are barely known at all. James Armistead Lafayette went from being a slave to being one of the best spies working for the Americans during the American Revolution. Armistead Lafayette outwitted British commander Gen. Cornwallis and provided George Washington vital information that contributed to the victory at the Battle...

by Joshua Ford | 24NewsThe unveiling of a new Florida license plate by Governor DeSantis has liberals and leftist organizations up in arms.Liberals are constantly willfully misinterpreting traditional American and patriotic flags and symbols to try to associate them with “right wing extremism.” One such victim of this misinterpretation is the iconic Gadsden Flag.This iconic flag dates back to the time of the revolution and has been seen as a symbol of freedom, defiance in the face of oppression, and American patriotism ever since.Now, Governor Ron DeSantis has released a new Florida license plate which prominently features the Gadsden flag...

Seems to be true to history so far-but given it's PBS, I am skeptical.

A Seattle elementary school canceled Halloween activities over concerns about student equity and inclusion. Specifically, Seattle Public Schools says Black males do not celebrate and, more generally, students of color feel marginalized by the holiday. One parent, however, thinks this is an “exercise in affluent white vanity that is wokeism.” Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary typically hosts Halloween festivities each year. They include a “Pumpkin Parade” where students wear costumes if they choose. But the school administration changed its focus to “foundational beliefs around equity for our students and families,” and, consequently, they’re canceling Halloween. This year the only thing spooky...

315 years ago, on January 17th, 1706, Benjamin Franklin came into our world. He would go on to do amazing things, things which it is not my intent to spend another 50000 words re-telling. What I wanted to do instead was invite you and invite everybody to celebrate his life and legacy, and take the time to get to know him a little better on a more personal level. This can be done. There is a fantastic free open source public domain audiobook of Franklin's autobiography which you can download here, it is well put together and is a great...

I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that "except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without his concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of...

Many Americans today have an ambivalent stance toward the free press. On the one hand, nearly all citizens assent to the idealism that originally justified its creation: We value the discovery and circulation of the truth, and the prevention of governmental tyranny. As such, the press is meant to serve both intellectual and political liberty. Yet, on the other hand, few citizens directly experience this idealism, feeling instead the press's forcefulness, flattery, vehemence, and sometimes fanaticism — often akin to warfare directed at their minds and sentiments. Rather than heading off intellectual and political dogma, the press often creates or...

In a letter dated July 2, 1756, Benjamin Franklin presented a proposal to George Whitefield, the most famous preacher of the Great Awakening, that they partner together to establish a Christian colony "in the Ohio," which was frontier at the time. In the letter, Franklin expressed confidence that God would give them success in such a project, "If we undertook it with a sincere regard to his honor." For the next 30 years, they carried on a lively and open correspondence. Whitefield often spoke about faith in Christ and admonished Franklin to make sure he was prepared for the next...

Of all the places to argue that only the government should be trusted with guns, Beto O'Rourke picked…Kent State University. Kent State is, of course, the location of the infamous 1970 shooting that left four students dead and nine others injured. The shots were fired not by private citizens but by members of the Ohio National Guard, who shot at a crowd protesting America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Invoking armed agents of the state gunning down unarmed civilians is an interesting way to argue that Americans would be better off if the government forcefully disarmed private citizens. But hey,...

On JULY 26, 1775, Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General of the United States, a position he held under the British Crown before the Revolution. Franklin's public career began when he organized Pennsylvania's first volunteer militia during threaten attacks from Spanish and French ships. Franklin then proposed a General Fast, which was approved by the Colony's Council and printed in his Pennsylvania Gazette, December 12, 1747: "As the calamities of a bloody War ... seem every year more nearly to approach us ... there is just reason to fear that unless we humble ourselves before the Lord & amend...

As Benjamin Franklin departed the Constitutional Convention, he was asked if the framers had created a monarchy or a republic. "A republic," he famously replied, and then added, "if you can keep it." The remarkable generation that founded this nation led an improbable yet successful revolution against the strongest military power of the time. They declared their independence based on self-evident truths, asserting a new basis of political rule in the sovereignty of the people and launching an experiment in self-government. Through a carefully written constitution that limits power and secures rights while allowing for change through its own amendment,...

The Constitutional Convention was in a deadlock over how large and small states could be represented equally. Some delegates left. Then, on JUNE 28, 1787, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin spoke and shortly after, the U.S. Constitution became a reality. Franklin stated: "Groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights ... ... In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had...

In his later years, Benjamin Franklin became vocal as an abolitionist and in 1787 began to serve as President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. The Society was originally formed April 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, as The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage...The Society not only advocated the abolition of slavery, but made efforts to integrate freed slaves into American society. Preamble: "It having pleased the Creator of the world, to make of one flesh all the children of men, it becomes them to consult and promote each other's happiness, as...

British satellite historians claim to have discovered the true location of an iconic American revolutionary ship which defeated the Royal Navy off the Yorkshire coast. The famous vessel, the USS Bonhomme Richard, was the first US ship to beat the Royal Navy in British waters before she sank on September 24, 1779. The location of the wreck has long been a mystery, but now a British satellite historian from Harrogate claims to have found it. Tim Akers, 60, used pioneering satellite radar techniques alongside British satellite firm Merlin Burrows to track down the buried vessel.

Two months after Ben Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence, a surprise visitor walked into his Philadelphia shop. The young man’s curly brown hair cascaded down toward his shoulders, and his English was so broken he switched to French. Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a 30-year-old Pole just off the boat from Europe via the Caribbean, introduced himself and offered to enlist as an officer in the new American nation’s army. Franklin, curious, quizzed Kosciuszko about his education: a military academy in Warsaw, studies in Paris in civil engineering, including fort building. Franklin asked him for letters of recommendation. Kosciuszko had none....

Whether you blame it on the French, the English, the Germans or Benjamin Franklin, the scourge of daylight saving time will strike at 2 a.m. Sunday and create havoc for the hapless American worker. And it all started as a joke. The elderly Benjamin Franklin, said to enjoy a robust social life in Paris as the American envoy, after bit of an all-nighter was once unhappily woken by the morning sunlight at 6 a.m. Annoyed, as any red-blooded American would be, he penned a bit of satire. The French, Franklin wrote, could save the modern-day equivalent of $200 million “through...

January 17th is the anniversary of the birth of American statesman, philosopher, and scientist Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) in Boston. After apprenticing with his brother as a printer, Franklin settled in Philadelphia, published The Pennsylvania Gazette, and gained a wide circle of readers with his Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-1757). Entering civic affairs, he was eventually appointed Postmaster General for the colonies (1753-1774) while also dabbling in a variety of scientific pursuits. Before the Revolution, Franklin spent a total of 14 years representing the Pennsylvania Assembly in England, attempting to achieve reconciliation with the home country. Failing that, he was elected to...