[frangk-lin] Pronunciation Key | 1. | A·re·tha [uh-ree-thuh] Pronunciation Key, born 1942, U.S. singer. |
| 2. | Benjamin, 1706–90, American statesman, diplomat, author, scientist, and inventor. |
| 3. | Sir John, 1786–1847, English Arctic explorer. |
| 4. | John Hope, born 1915, U.S. historian and educator. |
| 5. | a district in extreme N Canada, in the Northwest Territories, including the Boothia and Melville peninsulas, Baffin Island, and other Arctic islands. 549,253 sq. mi. (1,422,565 sq. km). |
| 6. | a town in S Massachusetts. 18,217. |
| 7. | a city in SE Wisconsin. 16,871. |
| 8. | a town in central Tennessee. 12,407. |
| 9. | a town in central Indiana. 11,563. |
| 10. | a town in SW Ohio. 10,711. |
| 11. | a male given name: from a Germanic word meaning “freeholder.” |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| Franklin, Benjamin 1706-1790.
American public official, writer, scientist, and printer. After the success of his Poor Richard's Almanac (1732-1757), he entered politics and played a major part in the American Revolution. Franklin negotiated French support for the colonists, signed the Treaty of Paris (1783), and helped draft the Constitution (1787-1789). His numerous scientific and practical innovations include the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and a stove. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| Franklin
(frāngk'lĭn) Pronunciation Key
American public official, scientist, inventor, and writer who fully established the distinction between negative and positive electricity, proved that lightning and electricity are identical, and suggested that buildings could be protected by lightning conductors. He also invented bifocal glasses, established the direction of the prevailing storm track in North America and determined the existence of the Gulf Stream. |
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Franklin, Benjamin
A patriot, diplomat, author, printer, scientist, and inventor in the eighteenth century; one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an important early researcher in electricity and proposed the modern model of electrical current. He also demonstrated that lightning was electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm and allowing it to be struck by lightning. Franklin used this discovery to invent the lightning rod. He produced other inventions as well, such as bifocal eyeglasses and the efficient Franklin stove. Particularly notable among his writings are The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Poor Richard's Almanack. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and negotiated with France and Britain on behalf of the newly formed government of the United States. Toward the end of his life, he took part in the Constitutional Convention.
Note: At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Franklin warned his fellow patriots that their venture, if unsuccessful, could lead to their execution for treason: “We must all hang together, or we shall surely all hang separately.”
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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