Ben Franklin

5 Stories

Ben Franklin's Gravestone Needs Your Pennies
Our Pennies Have Ruined
Ben Franklin's Grave
in case you missed it
Nov 19, 2016 4:44 PM CST

Our Pennies Have Ruined Ben Franklin's Grave

And now it needs about a million more of our pennies to fix it

(Newser) - For decades, visitors to Philadelphia's Christ Church Burial Ground have thrown pennies at the flat gravestone of Benjamin Franklin as a tribute to the man who coined the phrase "a penny saved, is a penny earned." Now officials need 1 million pennies to help fix it, reports...

In Maryland Lightning Strike, Ben Franklin Saves the Day

Original lightning rod took the hit when Maryland's State House was hit

(Newser) - Gov. Larry Hogan says the Maryland State House was saved from a lightning strike "by a 208-year-old original Ben Franklin lightning rod." The nation's oldest State House was hit by lightning Friday evening, triggering a sprinkler system in its historic dome, reports the AP . Fire officials say...

What It's Like to Live by Ben Franklin’s Schedule

Tim Goessling says it changed his life

(Newser) - Everyone loves "life hacks" these days, and Tim Goessling decided to try a 222-year-old one: He followed Benjamin Franklin's daily schedule, as Franklin recorded it in his 1791 autobiography, and he writes on theKnow that the experience changed his life. A breakdown of the routine and Goessling's...

Obama Speech Bodes Well for the Constitution
Obama Speech Bodes Well for the Constitution
OPINION
Jan 20, 2009 6:40 PM CST

Obama Speech Bodes Well for the Constitution

Inaugural address may hint at a more respectful administration

(Newser) - All presidents swear to uphold the Constitution when they take the oath of office, but John Nichols is pleased that Obama went further than that in his inaugural address today, he writes for the Nation. Invoking Ben Franklin, Obama rejected “as false the choice between our safety and ideals,...

One for the Books: Ben Franklin Weds Betsy Ross

A history-based love is consecrated in Philadelphia

(Newser) - Betsy Ross married Benjamin Franklin last night at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, in what probably seemed to many onlookers as a bit of historical fantasy in honor of July 4th, the Inquirer reports. But this was not acting: The couple was Linda Wilde and Ralph Archbold, two of Philadelphia’s...

5 Stories