"Our Ben" continues to inspire

was the email subject for the picture below submitted by a follower of this blog who is a graduate student enrolled in the AHEAD Program at Penn, the University founded by Benjamin Franklin. AHEAD "translates" as Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy.

Ben Keeping Current with eBooks

from the series Great Moments in Library History

Ben Returns to the Commonwealth

with his visit to the Oxford Public Library. The town of 4,650 is located in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania near the Maryland and Delaware borders. The library is now hosting the national traveling exhibition, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, created to honor Dr. Franklin on the tercentennial of his birth. A staged reading of the world premiere play, Dear Deborah, giving voice to his wife, is one of the programming highlights.

"Making Money Out of Nothing, Franklin's Greatest Invention"

reads the cover story of the October, 2010 issue of American History. In a vividly illustrated article, Thomas Levenson writes on page 26 that "Citizen Ben figured out how to make paper money as valuable as gold or silver coins..." and how to frustrate counterfeiters.



The following image is an example from the Library of Congress's American Treasures online exhibition.

"A full belly makes a dull brain."

stated Rod Blagojevich attorney Sam Adam Jr. on his 38th birthday Wednesday at the federal courthouse.

He volunteered that he lost more than 30 pounds since he started working on the trial in early May.

Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune reported that Sam, Jr. and his father both skip lunch when the trial is in session and chew ice, citing the Franklin quote above as their justification.

Venturi, Scott Brown's Franklin Court Threatened

Benjamin Franklin and the 1783 Icelandic Volcano

Michio Kaku writes in the Wall Street Journal of APRIL 19, 2010

in his "What Next From Iceland's Volcano? Opinion article

that the eruption also eventually killed tens of thousands of people on the Continent. Benjamin Franklin was in Paris at the time and was one of the first to connect the rapid change in local weather that collapsed European agriculture with a volcanic explosion. 1783 became known as the horrible "year without summer." Europe plunged into a period of poverty that lasted for years. Some historians believe that this may have contributed to the French Revolution of 1789."

Eyjafjallajokull's predecessor

11th Millionth Volume Added to University of Illinois Library

"Marcus Tullius Cicero. M. T. Cicero’s Cato Major, or, His Discourse of Old-Age.
Translated by James Logan. Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin, 1744.
This is the first translation of a classical Latin text published in English in the
American colonies. It was also Benjamin Franklin’s (1706–90) personal favorite
among the books he printed. Moreover, Franklin’s edition of Cicero’s Cato Major is considered to be the finest example of American colonial printing.

Tercentenary Franklin Exhibition at Orland Park Public Library

The Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World exhibition was organized by the Benjamn Franklin Tercentenary, and the American Library Association, Public Programs Office. The 1,000 square foot traveling exhibition was made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.

The splendid exhibit is now on display through February 19, 2010 at the Orland Park Public Library in Orland Park, Illinois. The library has scheduled more than 20 activities and events to complement the display.

Christopher Lowell as Benjamn Franklin

One of America's foremost presenters of Dr. Franklin can be seen in the video.

He recently visited the Swedenborg Memorial Library of Urbana University in Ohio to amplify the national traveling exhibition.

Picturing America Exhibit and Franklin

The Illinois State Library is currently displaying art prints from the "Picturing America" portfolio from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Prints from the 40 large, high-quality reproductions of great American art will be displayed on the library's second floor bridge throughout the rest of the summer. Prints include a James Audubon watercolor of pink flamingos; a stained-glass window by Tiffany; and a black-and-white photograph of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner as well as a handsome photograph of the 1862 Hiram Powers statue of Benjamin Franklin in the U.S. Senate Collection. All of the artwork is accompanied by "Artist Bio" and "Inspiration" statements as well as a listing of linked resources.

"Picturing America" is distributed by the NEH in cooperation with the American Library Association.
To view the entire collection, visit the Picturing America website.

Benjamin Franklin and the Hudson Valley

is the fall tour, September 30-October 4, sponsored by the Friends of Franklin. The tour will explore Franklin's New York connections in the scenic Hudson Valley and consider the 3 themes connecting Franklin to this area: his 1754 Albany Plan of Union, his 1776 visit of Canada to advance the American Revolution, and the Indian treaties he negotiated at Fort Stanwix. For further information contact Kathy DeLuca at 856-854-7257.

Fourth of July is Independence Day

Check out the U.S. government's web page replete with histories, quizzes, recipes, and more, even the founding document.

What kind of computer would Dr. Franklin own?

Dr. Alan Houston's Amazing Discovery at the British Library

Dr. Houston, a political science profesor at the Unversity of California at San Diego, came across copies of 47 letters writen by Benjamin Franklin. His Spring,2007 find is reported in the April issue of the William and Mary Quarterly.

NEH Funds Benjamin Franklin Summer 2009 Teachers' Workshops in Philadelphia

Teachers from across the United State will have the chance to walk in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin this summer as part of a major National Endowment for the Humanities initiative. The $175,000 Landmarks of American History grant will bring eighty teachers to historic Philadelphia for a week.

Penn State Harrisburg will sponsor "A Rising People: Benjamin Franklin and the Americans," to be held June 28-July 4 and July 5-10. Teachers will study with major scholars of early America, visit sites that Franklin knew, peruse documents in Franklin's own hand, and experience the host of historic opportunities Philadelphia has to offer in the weeks surrounding Independence Day.

Illlinois' Impeachment of Blagojevich

Ron Grossman, a Chicago Tribune Reporter, traces the origins of America's use of impeachment, first discussed by the Founding Fathers. Mr. Grossman describes Benjamin Franklin's view of this extraordinary power to remove the executive. Governor Blagojevich was impeached by unanimous vote of the Illinois Senate, 59-0, on Thursday, Januaary 29, 2009.

Edward Gibbon and Benjamin Franklin

In his 11/23/2008 NYT book review on p. 12 of Piers Brendon's recent "The Decline and Fall of the British Empire 1781-1997," Geoffrey Wheatcroft wrote, "Shortly before (1781),Gibbon himself declined an invitation to dine with Benjamin Franklin in Paris since he represented an enemy country. Franklin genially replied that he would like to 'furnish materials to so excellent writer for the Decline and Fall of the British Empire,' so the idea isn't new."

Gibbon was inspired while visiting Rome in 1764 to write his "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" which he completed in 1788.

Dr. Franklin Departs

"Dr. Franklin" left, not by carriage, on Thursday evening, December 11 for the The Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County, Mississippi, the next stop on his tercentennial tour of America's libraries.

He was anxious to be on his way so as not to conflict in anyway with the library's celebration of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln.

Brilliant Ideas Bulletin Board in Youth Services Dept.

This display was crafted by Debbie Graham of the Niles Youth Services Department during the Franklin Festival, presented in conjunction with the Benajmin Franklin: In Search of a Better World Exhbition.