Born in what was then the British colony of Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706, Franklin was the fifteenth of seventeen children and received only two years of a formal education. He started working in his father's candlemaking shop at the age of ten and later became an apprentice printer, working for his brother James. As a printer he developed a love for books, from which he educated himself. He spent two years in London, where he learned more about printing, and returned to Philadelphia in 1726. There he established the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack, which earned him a tidy income. Franklin's first major invention, around 1740, was the Pennsylvania fireplace, which eventually became known as the Franklin stove. Improving on an existing design, the Franklin stove had a flue around which room air could circulate. The flue acted like a radiator, increasing heating efficiency. Franklin claimed it made a...