18th century '' political cartoon attributed to
Benjamin Franklin, advocating in support of the American colonies joining the Albany Plan for Union, May 9, 1754 The newspaper was first published in 1728 by
Samuel Keimer and was the second newspaper to be published in the colonial
Province of Pennsylvania under the name
The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette, a reference to Keimer's intention to print out a page of
Ephraim Chambers'
Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences in each edition. On October 2, 1729,
Samuel Keimer, the owner of
The Gazette, fell into debt and before fleeing to
Barbados sold the newspaper to
Benjamin Franklin and his partner
Hugh Meredith, who shortened its name, as well as dropping Keimer's grandiose plan to print out the
Cyclopaedia. On August 6, 1741, Franklin published an editorial following the death of
Andrew Hamilton, a lawyer and public figure in Philadelphia and friend of Franklin. The editorial praised the man highly and showed Franklin had held the man in high esteem. On October 19, 1752, Franklin published a third-person account of his pioneering
kite experiment in
The Pennsylvania Gazette, without mentioning that he himself had performed it. While the purpose of the publication was primarily for classified ads, merchants and individuals listed notices of employment, lost and found goods and items for sale, it also reprinted foreign news. Most entries involved stories of travel. The gazette also published advertisements for
runaway slaves and
indentured servants. Among other firsts by
The Pennsylvania Gazette, the newspaper was the first to publish the
political cartoon Join, or Die, authored by Franklin. The cartoon resurfaced later in the 18th century as a symbol in support of the
American Revolution.
19th century The paper ceased publication in 1800, ten years after Franklin's death. It is claimed that the publication later reemerged as the
Saturday Evening Post in 1821. There are three known copies of the original issue, which are held by the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the
Library Company of Philadelphia, both in Philadelphia, and the
Wisconsin State Historical Society at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in
Madison, Wisconsin. ==Other uses==