Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was born on Milk Street in Boston, the fifteenth of seventeen children of Josiah Franklin, a candle and soap maker, and Abiah Folger. His family's modest means would shape his lifelong values of thrift and hard work.

Franklin entered Boston Latin School, where his father intended him to pursue a career in the clergy. Though he excelled academically, financial constraints forced him to leave after only two years of formal education.

At age 12, Franklin became an apprentice to his older brother James, who had just established a printing shop. This began Franklin's lifelong association with the printing trade and sparked his passion for writing and publishing.

Franklin secretly submitted fourteen satirical letters to his brother's newspaper, the New-England Courant, under the pseudonym 'Silence Dogood.' The witty essays, purportedly written by a middle-aged widow, became enormously popular and demonstrated his early literary talent.

After conflicts with his brother James, Franklin broke his apprenticeship and fled to Philadelphia with little money. He arrived hungry and disheveled, famously buying three large puffy rolls and walking through the streets past his future wife Deborah Read.

Pennsylvania Governor William Keith promised to set Franklin up as a printer and sent him to London, but the promised letters of credit never materialized. Franklin worked in London printing houses for 18 months, gaining valuable experience.

Franklin established the Junto, a mutual improvement club for aspiring tradesmen and artisans. Members met weekly to discuss morals, politics, and philosophy. The club became a catalyst for many of Franklin's civic improvement projects.

With a partner, Franklin established his own printing business in Philadelphia. His reputation for hard work and quality craftsmanship quickly made the shop successful, laying the foundation for his future prosperity.

Franklin entered a common-law marriage with Deborah Read, the woman who had watched him walk through Philadelphia years earlier. Despite Franklin's long absences abroad, their partnership lasted 44 years until her death in 1774.

Franklin established the first subscription library in America, where members pooled resources to buy books from England. This innovation democratized access to knowledge and became the model for public libraries across the colonies.

Franklin began publishing his famous almanac under the pseudonym 'Poor Richard.' Filled with weather predictions, practical advice, and witty aphorisms like 'Early to bed and early to rise,' it became a bestseller for 25 years.

Franklin was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia, a position that gave him free mailing privileges and access to news from other colonies. He later became Deputy Postmaster General for all British colonies in America.

Franklin designed an iron furnace stove that provided more heat with less fuel than open fireplaces. True to his belief that inventions should benefit humanity, he refused to patent it, allowing anyone to manufacture it freely.

Franklin established America's first learned society, dedicated to promoting useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities. The society attracted leading intellectuals and remains active today as America's oldest scholarly organization.

Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm to prove that lightning was electrical in nature. This dangerous experiment, along with his invention of the lightning rod, earned him international fame and membership in the Royal Society of London.

Pennsylvania sent Franklin to London to represent colonial interests before Parliament. He would spend most of the next 18 years in England, becoming the leading voice for American rights while trying to prevent the break with Britain.

As the oldest signer at age 70, Franklin helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence. His famous quip, 'We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately,' captured the gravity of their revolutionary act.

Franklin served as American ambassador to France, where his wit, charm, and scientific fame made him enormously popular. He successfully negotiated crucial French military and financial support that proved decisive in winning American independence.

Franklin was one of three American negotiators who signed the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Revolutionary War and securing British recognition of American independence. It was one of the greatest diplomatic triumphs in American history.

At 81, Franklin was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention. Though in failing health, he used his prestige to urge compromise and unity, famously saying he had often looked at the sun on Washington's chair, wondering if it was rising or setting—now he knew it was rising.

Benjamin Franklin died at home surrounded by family. Approximately 20,000 people attended his funeral, the largest gathering Philadelphia had ever seen. His epitaph, which he wrote himself, compared his body to 'the cover of an old book,' confident that 'the work itself shall not be lost.'