| Show the junto lives again asa IF tr linT THE spirit of benjamin frank un lin had been strolling along the streets re acts ol of philadelphia adelphia on a recent recent night it is is not unlikely that a pass erby might have ave heard the ghostly presence of the immortal ben chuckling to himself for that day had witnessed wilnes sed the spectacle of 2000 of his illow philadelphians adelph ians crowding mt into the academy of music to rei vive an organization which he started years ago and according to time magazine ma eaic at weeks end fr fresh hordes were still coming it was the biggest cultural revival in many a philadelphia year t the cozy little study club he founded in a tavern with 11 convivial compan 1 ions in m 1727 has a mammoth ammoth reincarnation this 3 cozy 7 little club was the famous f junto or council a mutual self improvement society formed by franklin and several of his ingenious acquaintances it was a democratic organization too for among its members besides 21 year old ben franklin were a surveyor a glazier an oxford scholar and a young gentleman of some fortune although the proceedings of the club were secret and no minutes min 0 of its meetings were kept franklin in his writings has revealed some of the topics which the members of the junto discussed among them were these whence comes the dew that stands on the outside of a tankard I 1 agn F 1 1 3 rai ekel 1 01 x t lz 12 W i earliest known portrait of franklin painted probably about 1748 now owned by harvard university what unhappy effects of intemperance have you lately observed but the junto is important in american history it if for no other reason than this it was this club which helped launch franklin upon the career as a scientist which brought him worldwide world wide fame especially P ally in the field of experiments in electricity franklin first became interested in electricity in 1746 when he attended a lecture by a dr spence of boston this led eventually to correspondence with peter collinson of london who sent him an electrical tube and with it franklin performed various experiments for the edification of the members of the junto writing to collinson later franklin said 1 I never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossed my attention and my time as this has lately done for what with making experiments when I 1 can be alone and repeating rep eating them to my friends and acquaintances who from the novelty of the thing come continually to see them I 1 have during some months past had little leisure for anything g else undoubtedly the encourage encouragement me nt which he received from his fellow members of the junto had a great deal to do with his continuing the st studies udies in electricity and branching out into other scientific fields franklin seems to have carried on his studies in physical science natural philosophy yv wholly during the period 1747 to 1756 and then to have been driven drive it off from his work which he describe described ed as the most absorbing of his life by the increasing demands of public life and civic obligations aig ligat actions ions thus writes how howard ard mcclenahan in the chapter franklin the philosopher and sc scientist dentist in the book the amazing benja benjamin franklin in it he lists all of 0 I 1 the LIM st striking king phenomena observed for the first time by this fundamental physicist the junto lasted f for or 40 odd years a and nd out of it g grew r ew the american philosophical society soc bety tile the oldest scientific society on the american continent during its existence of four decades it was the originator institutions in important of many au all of wb which ich benjamin franklin played P a leading part among these we were re 1731 the library company of philadelphia the first circulating library in america 1736 the union fire company the first volunteer fire department in in philadelphia 1749 proposals relating to the education of youth in pennsylvania which led to the formation of the college afterwards the university of pennsylvania 1751 the pennsylvania hospital the first of its kind in america and 1 1752 the philadelphia Phil adelphi a Contribution ship for the insurance of houses from loss los by fire the first chartered fire insurance company in Ameri america Qa |
