Benjamin Franklin's Misconceptions

Myths are widely held beliefs that are exaggerated perceptions of a person or event, such as the case with Benjamin Franklin. As an inventor, writer, and founding father, Benjamin Franklin plays a large role in the history of America and is still widely renowned for his many fields of knowledge and odd passions, nonetheless misconceptions surround his fame and taint his image. For instance, Benjamin Franklin is frequently thought of as an conservative due to his miserly attitude, when in reality he was a liberal, believing in civil rights and a strong federal government. There are many falsehoods encompassing his legend from discovering electricity to murder.

With sixteen other siblings Benjamin Franklin’s early life was anything but easy,

Electrical charge is static electricity, or electricity that does not move. The knowledge of electricity dates back to 600 B.C. While the Greeks did not know they had discovered static electricity, they observed that rubbing fossilized tree resin, or amber, with animal fur made the resin attract dried grass. In 1600 AD. An English physicist named William Gilbert wrote books on the attractive nature of amber and used the Latin word "electricus" as a description. Several years later, another Englishman was inspired by Gilbert, his name was Thomas Browne. He wrote books on Physics, and created the word electricity to describe his investigations based Gilbert 's work. While being one of the many men who help to create electricity as we know it, Benjamin Franklin did not discover

However he never stated that the National bird should change. Also, Franklin wasn’t involved in the designation of the eagle as the national bird or its selection as a part in the Seal of the United States, but, he sat on the first committee appointed to work on the seal’s design with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in 1776, even so, there’s no record of him arguing against an eagle design or suggesting the turkey.

Furthermore, unheard of myths about Benjamin Franklin were: Franklin was a lefty. This is false, he was right-handed. The confusion most-likely occurred when he wrote a skit about unequal treatment and signed it, “The Left Hand.” Benjamin was a vegetarian, this is also incorrect, as evidence suggests that young Franklin was adverse to killing animals, and figured vegetables cost less than meat, so he could spend more of his earnings on books. However, his diet wasn’t completely meat and fish free, though. The idea that Benjamin invented daylight-saving time, is untrue. Although he wrote a suggestion for a shift in time when he was living in France. Franklin founded the first fire insurance company. This is misguided, due to the fact that he founded the first insurance company in Philadelphia in 1751, and that also still exists. Another misconception was that Franklin designed the first street light. This is false, but Franklin oversaw the