Several hundred people gathered Tuesday at the National Constitution Center for a fete kicking off yearlong celebrations of the 300th birthday of American founding father, statesman, philosopher and inventor &to=http://english.pravda.ru/usa/2001/09/21/15863.html' target=_blank>Benjamin Franklin.
Watching the proceedings front and center was Franklin himself, played by Ralph Archbold, who watched as groups of people came up on stage to take part in the lighting of the 300 electric candles on the 8-foot-tall (2.4-meter-tall) three-tiered faux birthday cake. The cake was topped by a kite with Franklin's portrait, symbolizing his famous kite-flying experiment that identified the presence of electricity in lightning.
"Ben, you don't look a day over 275," joked Richard Stengel, president and CEO of the Constitution Center.
Also Tuesday, other parties were planned at the children's museum and city library, while the American Philosophical Society _ founded by Franklin in 1743 _ led a procession to the founding father's grave near Independence Hall. Future events in the yearlong celebration include concerts, exhibitions and lectures.
Franklin was born in Boston on Jan. 6, 1706. But in 1752, the old Julian calendar was replaced with the &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/92/373/6594_China.html' target=_blank>Gregorian calendar, meaning time skipped ahead 11 days. The old Jan. 6 became the new Jan. 17.
Franklin left Boston in September 1723 _ fleeing an abusive older brother and a provincial, Puritan-controlled town _ and headed to the City of Brotherly Love, which has long considered him a beloved adopted son. He died at 84 on April 17, 1790, reports AP.
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