Benjamin Franklin helped to create the University of Pennsylvania. This was a response to, what Franklin said, was a lack of adequate educational institutions in the state. Writing in 1749, he said: "It has long been regretted as a misfortune to the youth of this province that we have no academy in which they might receive the accomplishment of a regular education."
Inspired by the likes of Harvard, Franklin wrote a pamphlet on this subject and urged local citizens to donate money to create a university. In 1751, with the help of some friends, Franklin opened the Academy of Philadelphia. Acting as a trustee, Franklin co-created the Academy's curriculum which focused on the sciences, history, logic, math and geography. By 1765, the Academy also had a fully-functioning medical department which became the first teaching hospital in the country.
Two years after Franklin's death, in 1792, the Academy was officially known as the University of Pennsylvania.
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