He married Deborah Read in 1730. They took in a son "William" out of wedlock. Deborah gave birth to a son named Francis in 1732, but then died four years later of smallpox. They had a daughter named Sarah born in 1743.
Franklin's prominence as a citizen grew in the 1730's. He published Poor Richard's Almanac at the end of 1732, which was a huge success. The almanac contained weather, poetry, advice, recipes, astronomical information, and much more; he continued to publish it for 25 years. He organized the Union Fire Company to protect against dangerous fire hazards. He also innovated with the invention of the Franklin stove, which was a stove that provided more heat with less fuel. "By 1748, the 42-year-old Ben had become one of the richest men in Pennsylvania. He turned his business over to a partner to give him more time to conduct scientific experiments." (Paragraph 12) He moved into a new house and acquired slaves to work around the house, but his views on slavery evolved to where he considered it evil, and then freed his slaves in the 1760s. He joined the Pennsylvania militia at age 42. His interest in electricity grew and he began experimenting on electricity. He conducted experiments and recorded them into a book called "Experiments and Observations on Electricity." He is most famous for his kite-key experiment in 1752 to prove there was electricity in light. He is also credited to the invention of bifocal glasses, the rocking chair, and the American penny. "His self-education earned him honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, England's Oxford University and Scotland's University of St. Andrews in Scotland." .
Franklin became a member of Philadelphia's city council in 1748. He worked his way up to becoming the deputy postmaster general of North America. In 1754, when the French and Indian war began, he called the colonies to come together for defense.
