alexcunningham

__// Alex Cunningham //__ __// Jacques Cartier was born on December 31,1491 in St. Malo,Brittany.He went on three major voyages to North America. In 1534 King Francis the first sent Cartier to the eastern coast of North America. Jacques was sent in search of gold,spices,and a passage to Asia. He sailed on April 20, 1534, with two ships and 61 men, and arrived 20 days later. He explored the west coast of Newfoundland, discovered Prince Edward Island and sailed through the Gulf of St. Lawrence, past Anticosti Island. When Cartier returned to France King Francis was impressed with Cartier’s report of what he had seen, so he sent the explorer back the following year, in May, with three ships and 110 men. Two Indians Cartier had captured previously now served as guides, and he and his men navigated the St. Lawrence, as far as Quebec, and established a base. Cartier sailed downriver to the Montreal area and was welcomed by the Iroquois whom controlled the area,hearing from them that there were other rivers that led farther west, where gold, silver, copper and spices could be found. Before they could continue, though, the harsh winter blew in, rapids made the river impassable, and Cartier and his men managed to anger the Iroquois.So Cartier waited until spring, when the river was free of ice, and captured some of the Iroquois chiefs before again returning to France. Because of his hasty escape, Cartier was only able to report to the king that untold riches lay farther west and that a great river, said to be about 2,000 miles long, possibly led to Asia. //__ =__// BENJAMIN FRANKLIN //__=

// Franklin or Ben Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston and died on April 17,1790 in Philadelphia. Ben Franklin was an accomplished inventor. From a young age he enjoyed inventing things that helped people do tasks and make life better. For example, when he was little, Ben and his friends wanted to go fishing in a particular pond where you could catch really good fish but the banks of the pond were really muddy. Ben took stones from a nearby construction site and put them on the banks of the pond so that their shoes did not get muddy. They did get in big trouble afterwards when the workers found the stones were missing when they came back to work the next morning. Three very important things that he invented that are still used today are swim fins,the lightning rod,and a device called a Long Arm. //

// When Ben Franklin was 11 and was at a small lake in Boston with his friends he wanted to swim to the other side which was a mile away. Even though he was a strong swimmer a mile was a long distance. So he took two pieces of wood and carved them into oval shaped pads. He attached straps and put them on his wrists and ankles. They did help him swim but he thought they were "clunky" and gave them up. Franklin was always a fan of swimming even in his older years when he became weaker.The fact that he promoted swimming as a healthy activity enabled him to be recognized by the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the United States Swim Schools Association Hall of Fame. //

// Ben Franklin's most famous invention is the lightening rod and it is still used today on many buildings. In 1747 he started experimenting with electricity.In 1749 he thought that lightening and electricity were very much the same because of the noise they both made, how they were shaped and the color of the light. So Ben Franklin decided to prove that they were the same thing. In 1752 he attached a key to a kite and flew it in a storm. He was able to detect the electricity connecting with the key.Franklin showed others that having pointed rods on buildings helped to protect them from lightening strikes. //

// Ben Franklin loved to collect books and his home was full of them. Even though he was tall it was hard to reach the books on the high shelves. So Ben created the Long Arm. It is a piece of wood with two pieces attached at one end. The pieces at the end are like fingers and can be closed by pulling on a cable that is attached to them. This type of grabber is still used today. For example it is used to pick up trash on the side of roads or to help people who can't move very well reach for something high up or low down. //



// During his long life Ben Franklin didn't only invent new things he helped to improve existing items such as paper money. His imagination and skills at experimentation have produced items we still use now and he is very admired for being a great inventor and having a positive impact on our world. //

Bibliography Who was Ben Franklin - Author: Dennis B Fradin [|W] ikipedia How Stuff Works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/famous-inventors/10-ben-franklin-inventions7.htm The Franklin Institute: https://www.fi.edu/history-lightning-rod