Benjamin Franklin
1706 to 1790
17 documented presences
14 places
Quo Fuit places 17 dated presences for Benjamin Franklin across 14 places, from 1706 to 1790. Each one keeps the sentence it was taken from and a link to its source.
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher.Wikipedia, full article · CC BY-SA
Where Benjamin Franklin was documented, and when
17 January 1706exact date
Bostondocumented
“Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on January 17, 1706, and baptized at the Old South Meeting House in Boston.”
source: Wikidata: Q34969 · 2 sources agree
1714 to 1716period
1725year
Londonattested
“Although his parents had intended for him a career in the church, Franklin as a young man adopted the Enlightenment religious belief in deism, that God's truths can be found entirely through nature and reason, declaring, "I soon became a…”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1754 to 1755period
New Yorkattested
“Johnson went on to found King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City in 1754, while Franklin hired Smith as provost of the College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1755.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1754 to 1755period
New York Cityattested
“Johnson went on to found King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City in 1754, while Franklin hired Smith as provost of the College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1755.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
29 May 1756exact date
1757 to 1774period
Englandattested
“For the greater part of his appointment, he lived in England (from 1757 to 1762, and again from 1764 to 1774)—about three-quarters of his term.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1768year
Londonattested
“Because of these honors, he was often addressed as " Franklin." While living in London in 1768, he developed a phonetic alphabet in A Scheme for a new Alphabet and a Reformed Mode of Spelling.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
14 December 1774exact date
Great Britainattested
“Deborah Read Franklin died of a stroke on December 14, 1774, while Franklin was on an extended mission to Great Britain; he returned in 1775.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1775year
United Statesattested
“After his return to the United States in 1775, he became the Society's Corresponding Member, continuing a close connection.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1778year
New Yorkattested
“When finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778, he moved to New York City, which was occupied by the British at the time.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1778year
New York Cityattested
“When finally released in a prisoner exchange in 1778, he moved to New York City, which was occupied by the British at the time.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
25 July 1783exact date
1786year
1789year
17 April 1790exact date
17 April 1790exact date
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Places Benjamin Franklin is documented in
London2 presences · 1725 to 1768New York2 presences · 1754 to 1778New York City2 presences · 1754 to 1778Boston1 presence · 1706England1 presence · 1757Great Britain1 presence · 1774Philadelphia1 presence · 1790Royal Society1 presence · 1756United States1 presence · 1775
Academy of Sciences of Turin1 presence · 1783
Boston Latin School1 presence · 1714
Proprietary House1 presence · 1790
Other places tied to Benjamin Franklin in the record
In each of these, a source puts Benjamin Franklin and the place in the same dated sentence without stating that Benjamin Franklin was there. They are kept apart from the timeline above for exactly that reason: a mention is not a presence, and Quo Fuit does not quietly promote one into the other.
1726year
Philadelphiamentioned
“He returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of Thomas Denham, an English merchant who had emigrated but returned to England, and who employed Franklin as a clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in his business.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1726year
Englandmentioned
“He returned to Philadelphia in 1726 with the help of Thomas Denham, an English merchant who had emigrated but returned to England, and who employed Franklin as a clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper in his business.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1727year
Philadelphiamentioned
“In 1727, at age 21, Franklin formed the Junto, a group of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community." The Junto was a discussion group for issues of the day; it subse…”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1728year
Philadelphiamentioned
“In 1728, he set up a printing house in partnership with Hugh Meredith; the following year he became the publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette, a newspaper in Philadelphia.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1730year
Philadelphiamentioned
“When he established himself in Philadelphia, shortly before 1730, the town boasted two "wretched little" news sheets, Andrew Bradford's The American Weekly Mercury and Samuel Keimer's Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences, and Pe…”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1731year
Charleston, South Carolinamentioned
“He began in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1731.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1732year
Americamentioned
“In 1732, he published the first German-language newspaper in America – Die Philadelphische Zeitung – although it failed after only one year because four other newly founded German papers quickly dominated the newspaper market.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1734year
Pennsylvaniamentioned
“He became a grand master in 1734, indicating his rapid rise to prominence in Pennsylvania.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1735 to 1738period
Philadelphiamentioned
“John's Lodge in Philadelphia from 1735 to 1738.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1736year
Americamentioned
“In 1736, Franklin created the Union Fire Company, one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1741year
Americamentioned
“In 1741, Franklin began publishing The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
October 1748month
Pennsylvaniamentioned
“In October 1748, he was selected as a councilman; in June 1749, he became a justice of the peace for Philadelphia; and in 1751, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
1751year
Pennsylvaniamentioned
“In 1751, Franklin and Thomas Bond obtained a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature to establish a hospital.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
15 June 1752exact date
Philadelphiamentioned
“On June 15, 1752, Franklin may possibly have conducted his well-known kite experiment in Philadelphia, successfully extracting sparks from a cloud.”
source: Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
19 October 1752exact date
23 April 1754exact date
1756year
1757 to 1775period
1757 to 1775period
1758 to 1773period
1758year
1758year
1758year
1759year
Documented at the same place, the same year
Two people documented in the same place in the same year is a correlation, not a meeting. Quo Fuit will never say they met without a source that says so.
How to read this page
Every line above is a dated fact taken from a source, with the sentence it came from and a link back to it. Nothing is inferred, and a gap in the record is not evidence that someone was elsewhere.
A tag says how the fact is carried by its source: documented a structured, explicitly dated record, attested a sentence that states the person was there, mentioned a sentence that ties the person to the place without stating presence.
Sources
Sentences quoted from Wikipedia are available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Public domain books come from Project Gutenberg. Quo Fuit claims no rights over these sources.
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