Benjamin Franklin Trivia
Who was Benjamin Franklin?
A: He was an American statesman and scientist.
When was Benjamin Franklin born?
A: January 17, 1706.
When did he die?
A: April 17, 1790.
Where was Benjamin Franklin born?
A: Boston.
Who was his father?
A: Josiah Franklin.
What did Josiah Franklin do for a living?
A: He was a soap and candle maker.
How many children did Benjamin’s father have
with his first wife?
A: Seven.
How many did he have with his second wife?
A: Ten.
Who was his first wife?
A: Anne Child.
Who was his second wife?
A: Abiah Folger.
Of his 17 children, where did Benjamin rank?
A: 15th child and youngest son.
What did Ben learn to do at an early age?
A: Read.
At what age did Benjamin quit school to work in
his father’s shop?
A: 10.
Where did Josiah apprentice Ben to at the age of
12?
A: To his brother James at his print shop.
James mistreated and frequently did what to his
younger brother?
A: Beat him.
When James refused to publish any of his
brother’s writing, what did the 16-year-old Ben
do?
A: He adopted the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood.
James grew angry, however, when he learned what?
A: That his apprentice had penned the letters.
Tired of his brother’s “harsh and tyrannical”
behavior, what did Benjamin do?
A: He fled Boston.
When did he leave Boston?
A: In 1723.
Benjamin got a job with another printer in
Philadelphia and lodged at whose home?
A: The home of John Read.
Who did he met and court there?
A: His landlord’s daughter Deborah.
Who encouraged Ben to set up his own print shop?
A: Pennsylvania Governor William Keith.