Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath, distinguished as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Recognized as one of the most influential intellectuals of his era, Franklin was a pivotal Founding Father of the United States, instrumental in drafting and signing the Declaration of Independence, and served as the nation's inaugural postmaster general.
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States; a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and the first postmaster general.
Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, Franklin established a successful career as a newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, then a prominent colonial city. At 23, he began publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette, accumulating wealth through this venture and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he authored under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". Post-1767, he became affiliated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper noted for its revolutionary sentiments and critiques of British Parliament and Crown policies. He pioneered and served as the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, founded in 1751 and later evolving into the University of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, he organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society, subsequently being elected its president in 1769. His appointment as deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753 enabled him to establish the nascent national communications network.
Franklin actively participated in community affairs, colonial and state politics, and national and international diplomacy. He achieved widespread acclaim in North America as a colonial agent in London, where he successfully championed the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. As an accomplished diplomat, he earned considerable admiration as the first U.S. ambassador to France, playing a significant role in fostering positive Franco–American relations. His efforts were crucial in securing French support for the American Revolution. From 1785 to 1788, he held the position of President of Pennsylvania. While Franklin owned at least seven enslaved individuals and advertised slave sales in his newspaper from approximately 1735 for several decades, he began advocating against slavery by the late 1750s, becoming an active abolitionist and promoting the education and societal integration of African Americans.
As a scientist, Franklin's groundbreaking investigations into electricity positioned him as a central figure in the American Enlightenment and the historical development of physics. He also meticulously charted and named the Gulf Stream current. His numerous significant inventions include the lightning rod, bifocal lenses, the glass harmonica, and the Franklin stove. He established many civic institutions, such as the Library Company, the University of Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia's inaugural fire department. Franklin earned the epithet "The First American" due to his early and persistent advocacy for colonial unity. Notably, he was the sole individual to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris (establishing peace with Britain), and the U.S. Constitution. Fundamental in shaping the American ethos, Franklin has been described as "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become".
Franklin's enduring life and legacy, marked by scientific and political achievements and his status as a preeminent American Founding Father, have been commemorated for over two centuries since his death. He is honored on the $100 bill, and numerous towns, counties, educational institutions, and corporations bear his name. His image also appears in countless cultural references and a portrait in the Oval Office. His extensive collection of over 30,000 letters and documents is compiled in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin. Anne Robert Jacques Turgot famously remarked of him: "He snatched lightning from the sky and the scepter from tyrants" (Latin: "Eripuit fulmen cœlo, mox sceptra tyrannis").
Ancestry
Josiah Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's father, was a tallow chandler, soaper, and candlemaker. Born on December 23, 1657, in Ecton, Northamptonshire, England, to Thomas Franklin and Jane White, Josiah Franklin, along with all four of Benjamin's grandparents, originated from England.
Josiah Franklin fathered seventeen children across two marriages. His initial marriage was to Anne Child around 1677 in Ecton, and they emigrated to Boston in 1683, having three children prior to emigration and four subsequently. After Anne's demise, Josiah wed Abiah Folger on July 9, 1689, at the Old South Meeting House, officiated by Reverend Samuel Willard; they had ten children together. Benjamin, their eighth child, was Josiah Franklin's fifteenth child overall and his tenth and final son.
Abiah, Benjamin Franklin's mother, was born on August 15, 1667, in Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her parents were Peter Folger, a miller and schoolteacher, and Mary Morrell Folger, who had previously been an indentured servant. Mary Folger's Puritan family was among the initial Pilgrims who sought religious freedom in Massachusetts, arriving in Boston in 1635 following King Charles I of England's persecution of Puritans. Her father, Peter, was characterized as "the sort of rebel destined to transform colonial America." As a court clerk, he was apprehended on February 10, 1676, and incarcerated on February 19 due to his inability to post bail, spending over eighteen months in jail.
Early Life and Education
Boston
Born on January 17, 1706, on Milk Street in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, Franklin was baptized at the Old South Meeting House in Boston. Reflecting on his childhood near the Charles River, Franklin noted his frequent role as "generally the leader among the boys."
Franklin's father intended for him to pursue clerical studies but could only finance two years of schooling. Although he attended Boston Latin School, he did not graduate, instead continuing his education through extensive reading. Despite his parents discussing a "career in the church" for Franklin, his formal schooling concluded at age ten. He subsequently worked for his father before, at age 12, becoming an apprentice to his brother James, a printer, who instructed him in the printing trade. When Benjamin was 15, James established The New-England Courant, which marked the third newspaper founded in Boston.
Upon being denied the opportunity to submit a letter for publication in the newspaper, Franklin assumed the pseudonym "Silence Dogood," portraying a middle-aged widow. Mrs. Dogood's correspondence gained publication and became a topic of local discussion. Neither James nor the readership of the Courant's were privy to the deception, and James expressed displeasure upon discovering that his younger brother was the popular contributor. Franklin demonstrated an early commitment to free speech. In 1722, when his brother was incarcerated for three weeks for publishing content critical of the governor, the young Franklin assumed control of the newspaper. He then had Mrs. Dogood declare, citing Cato's Letters, "Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech." Franklin subsequently abandoned his apprenticeship without his brother's consent, thereby becoming a fugitive.
Relocation to Philadelphia and London
At the age of 17, Franklin departed for Philadelphia, seeking a fresh beginning in a new urban environment. Initially, he secured employment in various printing establishments, yet he found the immediate career prospects unsatisfactory. Several months later, while working in a printing house, Pennsylvania Governor Sir William Keith persuaded him to travel to London, ostensibly to procure the necessary equipment for founding another newspaper in Philadelphia. Upon realizing that Keith's pledges of financial support for a newspaper were unfounded, Franklin took a position as a typesetter in a printer's shop located in what is now the Lady Chapel of the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great in London's Smithfield district, which was then deconsecrated. He returned to Philadelphia in 1726, aided by Thomas Denham, an English merchant who had previously emigrated but subsequently returned to England, and who hired Franklin as a clerk, shopkeeper, and bookkeeper within his enterprise.
The Junto and the Library
In 1727, at 21 years old, Franklin established the Junto, an association of "like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community." This group served as a forum for discussing contemporary issues and later catalyzed the formation of numerous organizations in Philadelphia. The Junto's structure was inspired by English coffeehouses, with which Franklin was familiar, and which had become pivotal centers for the dissemination of Enlightenment concepts in Britain.
Reading constituted a prominent pursuit for the Junto; however, books were scarce and costly. Consequently, the members established a library, initially comprising their personal collections, following Franklin's written suggestion:
I proposed that, given the frequent references to our books during our discussions and inquiries, it would be advantageous to consolidate them at our meeting location for convenient consultation. By contributing our individual books to a shared library, we would collectively benefit from access to all members' collections, an arrangement nearly as advantageous as individual ownership of the entire compilation, for as long as we wished to maintain this communal system.
Nevertheless, this arrangement proved insufficient. Franklin subsequently conceptualized the establishment of a subscription library, an institution designed to aggregate members' financial contributions for the acquisition of books accessible to all. This initiative marked the genesis of the Library Company of Philadelphia, for which he drafted the charter in 1731.
Journalist
Following Denham's demise, Franklin resumed his previous profession. In 1728, he established a printing enterprise in collaboration with Hugh Meredith; the subsequent year, he assumed the role of publisher for The Pennsylvania Gazette, a Philadelphia-based newspaper. The Gazette provided Franklin with a platform to advocate for diverse local reforms and initiatives through published essays and commentaries. Progressively, his journalistic contributions and his skillful projection of an image as a diligent and intellectual young man garnered him substantial societal esteem. Nonetheless, even after attaining renown as a scientist and statesman, he consistently concluded his correspondence with the unassuming signature 'B. Franklin, Printer'.
In 1732, he launched America's inaugural German-language newspaper, Die Philadelphische Zeitung; however, this venture ceased publication after merely one year due to the rapid market dominance achieved by four other recently established German periodicals. Additionally, Franklin printed Moravian religious texts in German. He frequently traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he lodged at the Moravian Sun Inn. In a 1751 pamphlet addressing demographic expansion and its ramifications for the Thirteen Colonies, Franklin characterized Pennsylvania Germans as "Palatine Boors" incapable of assimilating the "Complexion" of Anglo-American colonists, and he identified "Blacks and Tawneys" as detrimental to the colonies' social fabric. Despite his apparent subsequent reconsideration, leading to the removal of these phrases from all subsequent editions of the pamphlet, his expressed views might have contributed to his political setback in 1764.
Ralph Frasca posits that Franklin advocated for the printing press as an instrument for imparting moral virtue to colonial Americans. Frasca contends that Franklin perceived this endeavor as a divine service, given his understanding of moral virtue as action-oriented, wherein benevolent deeds constitute service to God. Notwithstanding his personal moral failings, Franklin considered himself exceptionally suited to guide Americans in ethical conduct. He endeavored to shape American moral standards by establishing a printing network, structured as a series of partnerships extending from the Carolinas to New England. Consequently, he pioneered the concept of the newspaper chain. This initiative transcended a mere commercial enterprise, as he, like numerous other publishers, held the conviction that the press bore a responsibility for public service.
Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, just prior to 1730, the city featured two rather rudimentary newspapers: Andrew Bradford's The American Weekly Mercury and Samuel Keimer's Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences, and Pennsylvania Gazette. The latter publication's comprehensive instruction in arts and sciences primarily comprised weekly excerpts from Chambers's Universal Dictionary. Franklin swiftly transformed this publication after acquiring the Instructor, renaming it The Pennsylvania Gazette. The Gazette rapidly evolved into his distinctive platform, which he employed extensively for satirical commentary, intellectual wit, and even playful mischief. From its inception, Franklin demonstrated an aptitude for adapting existing literary models to serve his unique objectives. The essay series titled "The Busy-Body," authored by Franklin for Bradford's American Mercury in 1729, adhered to the prevailing Addisonian structure, albeit modified to suit more domestic contexts. The character of Patience, a diligent shopkeeper lamenting unproductive visitors, bears resemblance to the female correspondents of Mr. Spectator. The Busy-Body character himself functions as a genuine Censor Morum, akin to Isaac Bickerstaff in The Tatler. Furthermore, several fictional personae, including Ridentius, Eugenius, Cato, and Cretico, embody traditional 18th-century classical archetypes. Franklin adeptly utilized this classical framework for contemporary satire, exemplified by Cretico, the "sour Philosopher," who served as an evident caricature of his competitor, Samuel Keimer.
Franklin's ambition to establish an inter-colonial newspaper network, intended to generate profit and propagate virtue, met with varied outcomes. Over several decades, he financially supported approximately twenty-four printers across Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New York, Connecticut, and even the Caribbean region. By 1753, Franklin or his associates were responsible for publishing eight of the fifteen English-language newspapers then operating in the colonies. His initial venture commenced in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1731. Following the death of his second editor, Elizabeth Timothy, the widow, assumed control and successfully managed the publication. She is recognized as one of the earliest female printers in the colonial period. For thirty years, Franklin sustained a significant business partnership with Elizabeth Timothy and her son, Peter Timothy, who assumed management of the South Carolina Gazette in 1746. The Gazette maintained impartiality in political discussions while simultaneously fostering public discourse, thereby encouraging challenges to established authority. Timothy deliberately avoided insipid content and overt partisanship, progressively adopting a patriotic stance after 1765 amidst the escalating tensions with Great Britain. Conversely, Franklin's Connecticut Gazette (1755–68) ultimately failed. As the American Revolution drew nearer, political discord gradually fragmented his extensive network.
Freemasonry
Franklin was initiated into a local Masonic lodge either in 1730 or 1731. By 1734, he had attained the position of grand master, signifying his swift ascent within Pennsylvania's Masonic hierarchy. In that same year, he edited and published the inaugural Masonic text in the Americas, a reprinting of James Anderson's Constitutions of the Free-Masons. He served as secretary for St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia between 1735 and 1738.
In January 1738, Franklin testified as a witness in a manslaughter trial involving two individuals accused of causing the death of Daniel Rees, an apprentice described as "simple-minded," during a simulated Masonic initiation that went awry. During the incident, one of the men either "threw, or accidentally spilled, the burning spirits," resulting in Rees' death from his burns two days later. Although Franklin was not directly involved in the hazing that proved fatal, he was aware of the activity prior to its tragic outcome but took no measures to intervene. His inaction drew criticism from his publishing competitor, Andrew Bradford, in The American Weekly Mercury. Subsequently, Franklin issued a defense of his conduct in the Gazette.
Franklin maintained his affiliation with Freemasonry throughout his entire life.
Common-law marriage to Deborah Read
In 1723, at the age of 17, Franklin proposed marriage to 15-year-old Deborah Read while residing as a boarder in the Read household. At that juncture, Deborah's mother expressed reservations about her young daughter marrying Franklin, primarily due to his impending departure for London at Governor Keith's behest and his precarious financial situation. Having recently experienced the death of her own husband, she ultimately rejected Franklin's proposal for her daughter's hand.
When Franklin traveled to London and subsequently failed to communicate with Deborah and her family as anticipated, his prolonged silence was interpreted as a breach of his commitments. Consequently, Deborah married John Rogers, a potter, on August 5, 1725, at her mother's insistence. Rogers, however, soon absconded to Barbados with Deborah's dowry to evade debts and legal action. Due to Rogers' unknown whereabouts, existing bigamy statutes precluded Deborah from remarrying.
Upon his return in 1726, Franklin recommenced his courtship of Deborah, leading to the establishment of a common-law marriage on September 1, 1730. They subsequently integrated Franklin's recently acknowledged illegitimate young son into their household, raising him alongside their two biological children. Their son, Francis Folger Franklin, born in October 1732, succumbed to smallpox in 1736. Their daughter, Sarah "Sally" Franklin, born in 1743, later married Richard Bache.
Deborah's thalassophobia precluded her from accompanying Franklin on his extensive European voyages. An additional hypothesis for their frequent separations suggests that Franklin might have attributed blame to her for potentially preventing their son Francis from receiving inoculation against the fatal disease. In November 1769, Deborah communicated her illness, attributing it to "dissatisfied distress" stemming from his prolonged absence; however, Franklin did not return until his professional obligations were fulfilled. Deborah Read Franklin passed away from a stroke on December 14, 1774, during Franklin's extended diplomatic mission to Great Britain, from which he returned in 1775.
William Franklin
In 1730, at the age of 24, Franklin publicly recognized his illegitimate son, William, and subsequently raised him within his household. William, born on February 22, 1730, had an unidentified mother. He received his education in Philadelphia and, commencing around age 30, pursued legal studies in London during the early 1760s. William himself fathered an illegitimate son, William Temple Franklin, born on February 22, 1760; the boy's mother remained unidentified, and he was placed in foster care. In 1762, the elder William Franklin married Elizabeth Downes, the daughter of a Barbadian planter, in London. The following year, 1763, he was appointed as the final royal governor of New Jersey.
As a staunch Loyalist, William Franklin experienced a profound deterioration in his relationship with his father, Benjamin, due to their irreconcilable differences regarding the American Revolutionary War, a conflict in which Benjamin Franklin adamantly rejected William's stance. In 1776, the revolutionary government of New Jersey deposed William, subsequently placing him under house arrest at his Perth Amboy residence for a six-month period. Following the Declaration of Independence, he was formally apprehended by order of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, an authority he refused to acknowledge, deeming it an "illegal assembly." He endured two years of incarceration in Connecticut, specifically in Wallingford and Middletown. After being discovered covertly soliciting American support for the Loyalist cause, he was subjected to eight months of solitary confinement in Litchfield. Upon his eventual release in a 1778 prisoner exchange, he relocated to New York City, then under British occupation.
During his time in New York City, William Franklin assumed leadership of the Board of Associated Loyalists, a quasi-military organization chartered by King George III and based in the city. This group conducted guerrilla incursions into New Jersey, southern Connecticut, and the New York counties situated north of the city. When British forces evacuated New York, William Franklin departed with them, sailing to England, where he settled in London and never returned to North America. In the 1782 preliminary peace negotiations with Britain, Benjamin Franklin explicitly stipulated that "loyalists who had borne arms against the United States would be excluded from this plea (that they be given a general pardon)," a condition undoubtedly influenced by his consideration of William Franklin.
Success as an Author
In 1732, Franklin initiated the publication of the renowned Poor Richard's Almanack, a compilation featuring both original and appropriated content, under the nom de plume Richard Saunders. This publication significantly contributed to his widespread popular acclaim. He frequently employed pseudonyms in his writings. The inaugural edition was released for the subsequent year, 1733. Franklin cultivated a distinctive and characteristic writing style, marked by its clarity, pragmatism, and a subtly self-deprecating yet astute tone, conveyed through declarative sentences. Despite the open secret of his authorship, the persona of Richard Saunders consistently disavowed it. The "Poor Richard's Proverbs," a collection of aphorisms from this almanac—including "A penny saved is twopence dear" (frequently misquoted as "A penny saved is a penny earned") and "Fish and visitors stink in three days"—persist as widely recognized quotations in contemporary society. In folk culture, wisdom was often equated with the capacity to offer a pertinent adage for any circumstance, thereby equipping his readership with such insights. With annual sales approximating ten thousand copies, the almanac evolved into a cultural institution. In 1741, Franklin commenced the publication of The General Magazine and Historical Chronicle for all the British Plantations in America. The cover illustration featured the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales.
On June 25, 1745, Franklin authored a letter titled "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress," offering counsel to a young man regarding the management of sexual impulses. Its perceived licentious character precluded its inclusion in collections of his papers throughout the 19th century. Federal court decisions in the mid-to-late 20th century referenced this document as a rationale for invalidating obscenity statutes and opposing censorship.
Public Life
Early Engagements in Pennsylvania
In 1736, Franklin established the Union Fire Company, which stands as one of America's earliest volunteer firefighting organizations. Concurrently, he produced a novel currency for New Jersey, incorporating innovative anti-counterfeiting methodologies he had developed. His political career also began, notably as the Chief Clerk of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly, a role he occupied until 1751. Throughout his professional life, Franklin championed paper currency, evidenced by his 1729 publication of A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency, and his printing press produced such money. He exerted significant influence over the more judicious and consequently successful monetary policies implemented in the Middle Colonies, which effectively curbed deflation without precipitating undue inflation. In 1766, he presented an argument in favor of paper currency before the British House of Commons.
With increasing maturity, Franklin progressively dedicated himself to public affairs. In 1743, he initially conceived a plan for the Academy, Charity School, and College of Philadelphia; however, the Reverend Richard Peters, whom Franklin envisioned as the academy's director, declined the role. Consequently, Franklin deferred these proposals until 1749, when he published his own pamphlet, Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania. He was appointed president of the Academy on November 13, 1749; both the academy and the charity school commenced operations in 1751.
In 1743, he established the American Philosophical Society, aiming to facilitate discussions among scientists regarding their discoveries and theoretical frameworks. He initiated electrical research, which, alongside other scientific investigations, would engage him for the remainder of his life, interspersed with periods of political involvement and financial endeavors.
During King George's War, Franklin organized a militia, designated the Association for General Defense, in response to the city's legislators' inaction regarding Philadelphia's defense, specifically their decision against "either by erecting fortifications or building Ships of War." He procured funds for the construction of earthwork defenses and the acquisition of artillery. The most substantial of these defensive structures was the "Association Battery," also known as the "Grand Battery," comprising 50 guns.
By 1747, Franklin, already a man of considerable wealth, withdrew from the printing profession to pursue other commercial ventures. He established a partnership with his foreman, David Hall, an arrangement that secured Franklin half of the printing shop's profits for an eighteen-year period. This profitable business structure afforded him ample leisure for scholarly pursuits, leading to numerous new discoveries within a few years.
Franklin engaged in Philadelphia politics and advanced swiftly through its ranks. In October 1748, he was chosen as a councilman; by June 1749, he had assumed the role of a justice of the peace for Philadelphia; and in 1751, he secured election to the Pennsylvania Assembly. On August 10, 1753, he received the appointment of deputy postmaster-general for British North America. His contributions to domestic politics encompassed reforms to the postal system, notably instituting weekly mail dispatches.
In 1751, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Bond secured a charter from the Pennsylvania legislature for the establishment of a hospital, which became the Pennsylvania Hospital, the inaugural institution of its kind in the American colonies. The following year, in 1752, Franklin founded the Philadelphia Contributionship, recognized as the colonies' first homeowner's insurance company.
Between 1750 and 1753, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Johnson of Stratford, Connecticut, and schoolteacher William Smith formed an "educational triumvirate" that developed Franklin's initial concept into what Bishop James Madison, president of the College of William & Mary, termed a "new-model" American college. Franklin actively solicited, published in 1752, and promoted Johnson's American moral philosophy textbook, titled Elementa Philosophica, intended for use in these nascent institutions. A pivotal meeting in Stratford in June 1753 saw Johnson, Franklin, and Smith finalize the design for this new collegiate model. Key tenets included a focus on professional studies, instruction in English rather than Latin, the employment of subject matter experts as professors instead of a single tutor for a four-year curriculum, and the absence of religious admission tests. Subsequently, Johnson established King's College (now Columbia University) in New York City in 1754, while Franklin appointed Smith as provost of the College of Philadelphia, which commenced operations in 1755. Its inaugural commencement on May 17, 1757, saw seven graduates, comprising six Bachelor of Arts recipients and one Master of Arts. This institution later merged with the University of the State of Pennsylvania to form the University of Pennsylvania. The college proved instrumental in shaping the foundational documents of the United States; notably, over one-third of the college-affiliated individuals who contributed to the Declaration of Independence within the Continental Congress between September 4, 1774, and July 4, 1776, were associated with the college.
In 1754, Franklin led the Pennsylvania delegation to the Albany Congress, a multi-colonial assembly convened at the behest of England's Board of Trade to foster better relations with Native American tribes and strengthen defenses against the French. During this congress, Franklin introduced a comprehensive Plan of Union for the colonies. Although the plan was not formally adopted, several of its provisions were later incorporated into the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution.
In 1753, both Harvard University and Yale conferred honorary Master of Arts degrees upon Franklin. Three years later, in 1756, he received another honorary Master of Arts degree from the College of William & Mary. Also in 1756, Franklin established the Pennsylvania Militia, utilizing Tun Tavern as a recruitment center to raise a regiment for combating Native American uprisings prevalent in the American colonies.
Postmaster
Renowned for his work as a printer and publisher, Franklin received an appointment as postmaster of Philadelphia in 1737, a position he held until 1753. In that year, he and publisher William Hunter were jointly designated as the first deputy postmasters-general of British North America, a common practice for political considerations at the time. Franklin's jurisdiction encompassed the British colonies extending from Pennsylvania northward and eastward to Newfoundland. Although a post office for local and outgoing mail had been established in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by local stationer Benjamin Leigh on April 23, 1754, its service was inconsistent. Franklin subsequently inaugurated the first post office in Halifax offering regular, monthly mail service on December 9, 1755. Concurrently, Hunter assumed the role of postal administrator in Williamsburg, Virginia, overseeing regions south of Annapolis, Maryland. Franklin significantly reformed the postal service's accounting system and enhanced delivery efficiency among Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. These operational improvements led to the colonial post office generating its first profits by 1761.
Following the cession of New France territories to the British under the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which led to the creation of the British province of Quebec, Franklin oversaw the expansion of mail service connecting Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, and New York. Despite his extensive responsibilities, Franklin resided in England for the majority of his tenure as deputy postmaster-general, specifically from 1757 to 1762 and again from 1764 to 1774, accounting for approximately three-quarters of his appointment. Ultimately, his growing alignment with the rebel cause during the American Revolution resulted in his dismissal on January 31, 1774.
On July 26, 1775, the Second Continental Congress formally established the United States Post Office and appointed Benjamin Franklin as its inaugural Postmaster General. Franklin's extensive prior experience as a postmaster made him an evident selection for this role. Upon his recent return from England, he was designated chairman of a Committee of Investigation tasked with developing a postal system. The committee's report, which proposed the establishment of a Postmaster General for the thirteen American colonies, underwent deliberation by the Continental Congress on July 25 and 26. Consequently, on July 26, 1775, Franklin received the appointment, becoming the first Postmaster General under the Continental Congress. Although his apprentice, William Goddard, believed his own contributions were paramount to the postal system's design and that he deserved the appointment, he deferred to Franklin, who was 36 years his senior. In turn, Franklin designated Goddard as Surveyor of the Posts, providing him with a signed authorization to inspect post offices and mail routes as he deemed appropriate. This newly instituted postal framework evolved into the United States Post Office, an organization that remains operational presently.
Political Engagements
In 1757, the Pennsylvania Assembly dispatched Franklin to England to serve as a colonial agent, tasked with challenging the political dominance of the Penn family, who were the colony's proprietors. He resided in England for five years, endeavoring to abolish the proprietors' authority to nullify legislation passed by the elected Assembly and their immunity from land taxation. However, the absence of significant support within Whitehall ultimately resulted in the unsuccessful outcome of this diplomatic assignment.
During this period, numerous members of the Pennsylvania Assembly were engaged in conflict with the heirs of William Penn, who exercised proprietary control over the colony. Following his return, Franklin assumed leadership of the "anti-proprietary party" in its opposition to the Penn family, subsequently being elected Speaker of the Pennsylvania House in May 1764. Nevertheless, his advocacy for transitioning from proprietary to royal governance proved to be an unusual political misjudgment, as Pennsylvanians expressed concerns that such a shift could jeopardize their political and religious liberties. These apprehensions, coupled with character-based political assaults, led to Franklin's defeat in the October 1764 Assembly elections. The anti-proprietary party then sent him back to England to persist in the campaign against the Penn family's proprietorship. However, during this subsequent journey, unforeseen developments fundamentally altered the scope of his diplomatic objectives.
While in London, Franklin expressed opposition to the 1765 Stamp Act. Despite his inability to prevent its enactment, he committed another political error by endorsing his friend, John Hughes, for the position of stamp distributor in Pennsylvania. This action incensed Pennsylvanians, who presumed his underlying support for the legislation and consequently threatened to demolish his Philadelphia residence. Franklin subsequently recognized the profound colonial opposition to the Stamp Act and provided testimony during the House of Commons proceedings that ultimately resulted in its repeal. This pivotal involvement propelled Franklin into prominence as the foremost advocate for American interests in England. He authored influential essays championing the colonies' cause, and Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts additionally appointed him as their representative to the Crown.
Throughout his extended diplomatic assignments in London from 1757 to 1775, Franklin resided at a house on Craven Street, situated near the Strand in central London. During these periods, he cultivated a strong friendship with his landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and her social circle, particularly her daughter Mary, commonly known as Polly. This residence is currently preserved as the Benjamin Franklin House museum. While in London, Franklin also engaged with radical political movements. He was a member of a gentlemen's club, which he referred to as "the honest Whigs," that convened regular meetings and included notable figures such as Richard Price, the Newington Green Unitarian Church minister who initiated the Revolution controversy, and Andrew Kippis.
Scientific Contributions
In 1756, Franklin joined the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures Commerce, an organization established in 1754 and now recognized as the Royal Society of Arts. Following his return to the United States in 1775, he maintained his affiliation by becoming a Corresponding Member of the Society. To honor the 250th anniversary of his birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership, the Royal Society of Arts established the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 1956.
Natural philosophy, now broadly termed science, facilitated Franklin's entry into various intellectual networks. For instance, he served as a corresponding member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. His achievements were recognized with an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews in 1759, followed by the Freedom of the Borough of St Andrews in October of the same year. Oxford University also conferred an honorary doctorate upon him in 1762. Consequently, he was frequently referred to as "Dr. Franklin."
During his residence in London in 1768, Franklin devised a phonetic alphabet, detailed in his work A Scheme for a new Alphabet and a Reformed Mode of Spelling. This innovative alphabet eliminated six letters deemed superfluous (c, j, q, w, x, and y) and introduced six novel characters to represent sounds he believed were inadequately covered by existing orthography. However, this alphabet failed to gain widespread adoption, and Franklin ultimately abandoned the project.
Return to London and European Travels
Between the mid-1750s and the mid-1770s, Franklin resided primarily in London, utilizing the city as a strategic hub for his extensive travels. In 1771, he undertook several brief excursions across England, lodging with notable figures such as Joseph Priestley in Leeds, Thomas Percival in Manchester, and Erasmus Darwin in Lichfield. His Scottish itinerary included a five-day stay with Lord Kames near Stirling and a three-week Reflecting on a 1759 trip to Edinburgh with his son, Franklin later described his six weeks in Scotland as "six weeks of the densest happiness I have met with in any part of my life."
During his time in Ireland, Franklin lodged with Lord Hillsborough, observing that "all the plausible behaviour I have described is meant only, by patting and stroking the horse, to make him more patient, while the reins are drawn tighter, and the spurs set deeper into his sides." In Dublin, Franklin received the unprecedented honor for an American of being invited to sit with members of the Irish Parliament, rather than in the public gallery. His tour of Ireland profoundly affected him due to the pervasive poverty he encountered. He recognized that the Kingdom of Ireland's economy suffered under trade regulations and laws identical to those imposed on the Thirteen Colonies. This observation led him to fear that American colonies might eventually face similar destitution if such restrictive policies persisted.
Although Franklin spent only two months in German territories in 1766, his engagement with the region spanned his entire life. He acknowledged a significant intellectual debt to the German scientist Otto von Guericke for his foundational work on electricity. Furthermore, Franklin co-authored the inaugural treaty of friendship between Prussia and America in 1785. In September 1767, accompanied by his frequent travel companion, Sir John Pringle, 1st Baronet, Franklin visited Paris. His pioneering electrical discoveries had already garnered widespread recognition in France, facilitating introductions to numerous influential scientists, politicians, and even King Louis XV.
Advocacy for the American Cause
A prevailing argument within Parliament asserted that Americans ought to bear a portion of the French and Indian War's expenses, thereby justifying the imposition of taxes upon them. In 1766, Franklin emerged as the primary American representative, delivering highly publicized testimony before Parliament. He contended that the American colonies had already made substantial contributions to the Empire's defense. Specifically, he highlighted that local governments had recruited, equipped, and compensated 25,000 soldiers to combat France—a force equivalent to that dispatched by Great Britain itself—and had expended millions from American treasuries solely during the French and Indian War.
In 1772, Franklin acquired private correspondence from Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, the governor and lieutenant governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, respectively. These letters demonstrated their encouragement of the Crown to suppress dissent among Bostonians. Franklin dispatched these documents to North America, a move that significantly heightened existing tensions. The letters were subsequently leaked to the public via the Boston Gazette in mid-June 1773, igniting a political crisis in Massachusetts and prompting considerable scrutiny in England. Consequently, British authorities began to perceive Franklin as an instigator of serious unrest. Prospects for a peaceful resolution dissipated following his systematic ridicule and humiliation by Solicitor-General Alexander Wedderburn before the Privy Council on January 29, 1774. Franklin returned to Philadelphia in March 1775, abandoning his previous accommodationist position.
In 1773, Franklin published two of his most renowned pro-American satirical essays: "Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One" and "An Edict by the King of Prussia."
Allegations of British Espionage and Hellfire Club Affiliation
Franklin is documented to have attended meetings of the Hellfire Club as a non-member during his 1758 sojourn in England. However, some scholars and historians contend that he was, in fact, a British spy. Given the absence of surviving records, which were reportedly destroyed in 1774, many alleged memberships are based on conjecture or inferred from correspondence. Donald McCormick, a historian known for controversial assertions, was an early proponent of the theory that Franklin was both a Hellfire Club member and a double agent.
Prelude to Revolution
In 1763, shortly after Franklin's initial return to Pennsylvania from England, the western frontier became embroiled in Pontiac's Rebellion, a brutal conflict. The Paxton Boys, a group of settlers convinced that the Pennsylvania government was inadequately protecting them from American Indian incursions, perpetrated the murder of a peaceful group of Susquehannock Indians before marching on Philadelphia. Franklin played a pivotal role in organizing a local militia to defend the capital against this mob. He subsequently met with the Paxton leaders and successfully persuaded them to disperse. Franklin also authored a scathing critique condemning the racial prejudice exhibited by the Paxton Boys, posing the rhetorical question: "If an Indian injures me, does it follow that I may revenge that injury on all Indians?"
He initiated an early response to British surveillance through his own sophisticated network of counter-surveillance and strategic manipulation. "He waged a public relations campaign, secured secret aid, played a role in privateering expeditions, and churned out effective and inflammatory propaganda."
Declaration of Independence
Upon Franklin's arrival in Philadelphia on May 5, 1775, following his second diplomatic mission to Great Britain, the American Revolution had already commenced with the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The New England militia had successfully confined the primary British army within Boston. The Pennsylvania Assembly unanimously selected Franklin as their delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In June 1776, he was appointed to the Committee of Five, tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Despite being temporarily incapacitated by gout and consequently unable to attend most committee meetings, he contributed several "small but important" revisions to the draft submitted by Thomas Jefferson.
The famous "all hang together" adage attributed to Franklin at the signing of the Declaration is likely apocryphal. He is said to have responded to John Hancock's assertion that they must all hang together by stating, "Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Carl Van Doren, in Benjamin Franklin's Autobiographical Writings, suggests that the individual who uttered this phrase was most probably Richard Penn, a former governor of Pennsylvania, in response to a member of Congress who had remarked, "they must all hang together"... 'If you do not, gentlemen,' said Mr. Penn, 'I can tell you that you will be very apt to hang separately.'"
Ambassador to France (1776–1785)
On October 26, 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France as a commissioner for the United States. He traveled with his 16-year-old grandson, William Temple Franklin, who served as his secretary. They resided in a home in the Parisian suburb of Passy, generously provided by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, a staunch supporter of the United States. Franklin remained in France until 1785, where he managed his country's diplomatic relations with the French nation with considerable success. His achievements included securing a crucial military alliance in 1778, signing the 1783 Treaty of Paris, and orchestrating various clandestine operations against the British, notably supporting the privateer activities of John Paul Jones.
During his time in France, Benjamin Franklin collaborated with Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, a prominent French Revolutionary writer, orator, and statesman who later became president of the National Assembly in 1791. In July 1784, Franklin met with Mirabeau and provided anonymous contributions for Mirabeau's inaugural signed publication, Considerations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus. This work critically examined the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization established in the United States. Both Franklin and Mirabeau regarded the Society as a "noble order" that contradicted the egalitarian principles foundational to the new republic.
While residing in France, Franklin actively participated in Freemasonry, serving as the venerable master of the Les Neuf Sœurs lodge from 1779 to 1781. In 1784, when Franz Mesmer's theory of "animal magnetism" gained public attention and faced considerable skepticism, King Louis XVI established a commission to investigate it. This commission included notable figures such as chemist Antoine Lavoisier, physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailly, and Franklin. Through blind trials, the committee concluded that mesmerism's perceived effects were attributable solely to subjects' expectations, thereby discrediting the practice and providing the first significant demonstration of the placebo effect, which was then termed "imagination." In 1781, Franklin was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Franklin's advocacy for religious tolerance in France significantly influenced arguments put forth by French philosophers and politicians, culminating in King Louis XVI's signing of the Edict of Versailles in November 1787. This edict effectively superseded the Edict of Fontainebleau, which had previously denied non-Catholics civil status and the right to openly practice their faith.
Franklin also held the position of American minister to Sweden, despite never visiting the country. He successfully negotiated a treaty that was signed in April 1783. On August 27, 1783, in Paris, he witnessed the world's inaugural hydrogen balloon flight. Le Globe, designed by Professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, ascended from the Champ de Mars (present-day site of the Eiffel Tower) before a vast audience. Franklin's enthusiasm led him to financially support the subsequent project to construct a manned hydrogen balloon. On December 1, 1783, Franklin was seated in a designated enclosure for honored guests as the manned balloon, piloted by Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert, launched from the Jardin des Tuileries. Walter Isaacson recounts a chess game between Franklin and the Duchess of Bourbon, where she "made a move that inadvertently exposed her king. Ignoring the rules of the game, he promptly captured it. 'Ah,' said the duchess, 'we do not take Kings so.' Replied Franklin in a famous quip: 'We do in America.'"
Return to North America
Upon his return to North America in 1785, Franklin held a stature second only to George Washington as a champion of American independence. Ferdinand Le Ray honored him by commissioning a portrait painted by Joseph Duplessis, which is now displayed at the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Following his return, Franklin became an abolitionist and emancipated his two enslaved individuals. He eventually assumed the presidency of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.
Presidency of Pennsylvania and Constitutional Convention Delegate
A special ballot conducted on October 18, 1785, unanimously elected Franklin as the sixth president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, succeeding John Dickinson. This office was functionally equivalent to that of a governor. He served in this capacity for slightly over three years, a tenure longer than any other incumbent, fulfilling the constitutional limit of three full terms. Shortly after his initial election, he was re-elected for a full term on October 29, 1785, and subsequently in the fall of 1786 and on October 31, 1787. In this role, he hosted the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia.
He also served as a delegate to the Convention, primarily in an honorary capacity, and rarely participated in debates. According to James McHenry, when Elizabeth Willing Powel inquired about the nature of the government they had established, Franklin famously responded: "A republic, madam, if you can keep it."
Demise
Franklin experienced obesity throughout his middle and later life, leading to various health complications, notably gout, which progressively deteriorated with age. His declining health was evident during the 1787 signing of the U.S. Constitution, after which his public appearances became infrequent until his demise.
On April 17, 1790, at the age of 84, Franklin succumbed to a pleuritic attack at his Philadelphia residence. His final recorded words, reportedly spoken to his daughter after she suggested he adjust his position for easier breathing, were: "a dying man can do nothing easy." An account of Franklin's death is provided in the book The Life of Benjamin Franklin, which includes a quotation from John Paul Jones's narrative:
... when the pain and difficulty of breathing entirely left him, and his family were flattering themselves with the hopes of his recovery, when an imposthume, which had formed itself in his lungs, suddenly burst, and discharged a quantity of matter, which he continued to throw up while he had power; but, as that failed, the organs of respiration became gradually oppressed; a calm, lethargic state succeeded; and on the 17th instant (April 1790), about eleven o'clock at night, he quietly expired, closing a long and useful life of eighty-four years and three months.
Franklin's funeral was attended by an estimated 20,000 individuals, following which he was interred at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia. In response to his passing, the Constitutional Assembly of Revolutionary France observed a three-day period of mourning, and commemorative services honoring Franklin were held across the nation.
In 1728, at the age of 22, Franklin composed what he intended to be his personal epitaph:
The Body of B. Franklin Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and Amended By the Author.
Nevertheless, Franklin's actual grave marker, as stipulated in his last will, bears the inscription "Benjamin and Deborah Franklin."
Inventions and Scientific Inquiries
Franklin was a prolific inventor, whose numerous creations included the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, and the flexible urinary catheter. He chose not to patent his inventions, stating in his autobiography, "... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
Electricity and Light
Alongside his contemporary Leonhard Euler, Franklin stood as one of the few prominent scientists to endorse Christiaan Huygens's wave theory of light, a concept largely disregarded by the broader scientific community. During the 18th century, Isaac Newton's corpuscular theory was widely accepted; it was not until Thomas Young's renowned slit experiment in 1803 that the majority of scientists were convinced to adopt Huygens's theory.
Franklin commenced his investigations into electrical phenomena in the 1740s, following an encounter with Archibald Spencer, an itinerant lecturer who incorporated static electricity into his demonstrations. Franklin posited that "vitreous" and "resinous" electricity, then referred to as distinct types of "electrical fluid," were in fact the same "fluid" operating under varying pressures. (William Watson independently advanced the same proposition in the same year.) Franklin was the first to designate these as positive and negative, thereby superseding the prevailing distinction between 'vitreous' and 'resinous' electricity, and he also pioneered the discovery of the principle of charge conservation. In 1748, he fabricated a multi-plate capacitor, which he termed an "electrical battery" (distinct from a true battery like Volta's pile), by arranging eleven glass panes between lead plates, suspending them with silk cords, and connecting them with wires.
Driven by a desire for more practical applications of electricity, and expressing "chagrin'd a little" in spring 1749 that his prior experiments had yielded "Nothing in this Way of Use to Mankind," Franklin devised a pragmatic demonstration. He proposed a dinner event featuring a turkey that would be electrocuted and subsequently roasted on an electrical spit. Following the preparation of several turkeys using this method, he observed that "the birds kill'd in this manner eat uncommonly tender." Franklin also recounted an incident during one of these experiments where he received an electric shock from a pair of Leyden jars, resulting in temporary numbness in his arms for one evening, prompting him to declare, "I am Ashamed to have been Guilty of so Notorious a Blunder."
Franklin briefly explored electrotherapy, including the application of the electric bath, a pursuit that significantly contributed to the widespread recognition of this field. In acknowledgment of his contributions to electrical science, he was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1753, and by 1756, he had become one of the few 18th-century Americans to be elected a fellow of the Society. The CGS unit of electric charge, the franklin (Fr), is named in his honor and is equivalent to one statcoulomb.
Following the destruction of Harvard University's original electrical laboratory collection in a 1764 fire that consumed Harvard Hall, Franklin provided guidance for the acquisition of new apparatus. The collection he helped assemble was later incorporated into the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, which is now publicly exhibited at the university's Science Center.
Kite experiment and lightning rod
Franklin published a proposal outlining an experiment to demonstrate that lightning is a form of electricity by flying a kite during a storm. On May 10, 1752, Thomas-François Dalibard in France successfully conducted Franklin's experiment, utilizing a 40-foot-tall (12 m) iron rod instead of a kite to extract electrical sparks from a cloud. Subsequently, on June 15, 1752, Franklin may have performed his renowned kite experiment in Philadelphia, also successfully drawing sparks from a cloud. He detailed this experiment in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, on October 19, 1752, without explicitly stating his personal involvement. This account was presented to the Royal Society on December 21 and subsequently published in the Philosophical Transactions. Joseph Priestley later provided additional details in his 1767 publication, History and Present Status of Electricity. Franklin meticulously ensured his safety by standing on an insulator and remaining dry under a roof to mitigate the risk of electric shock. In contrast, others, such as Georg Wilhelm Richmann in Russia, were fatally electrocuted while conducting similar lightning experiments in the months immediately following Franklin's work.
Franklin's writings reveal his awareness of the inherent dangers and his provision of alternative methods to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning, exemplified by his use of the concept of electrical ground. He did not execute the experiment in the manner frequently depicted in popular literature, which portrays him flying the kite and awaiting a direct lightning strike, as such an approach would have been perilous. Instead, he employed the kite to collect electric charge from a storm cloud, thereby illustrating that lightning is electrical. In a letter dispatched to England on October 19, 1752, containing instructions for replicating the experiment, he articulated:
When rain has wet the kite twine so that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it streams out plentifully from the key at the approach of your knuckle, and with this key a phial, or Leyden jar, may be charged: and from electric fire thus obtained spirits may be kindled, and all other electric experiments [may be] performed which are usually done by the help of a rubber glass globe or tube; and therefore the sameness of the electrical matter with that of lightening [sic] completely demonstrated.
Benjamin Franklin's electrical experiments culminated in the invention of the lightning rod. He posited that conductors featuring a sharp rather than a smooth point could discharge electrical energy silently and over significantly greater distances. He hypothesized that this principle could safeguard structures from lightning strikes by attaching "upright Rods of Iron, made sharp as a Needle and gilt to prevent Rusting, and from the Foot of those Rods a Wire down the outside of the Building into the Ground; ... Would not these pointed Rods probably draw the Electrical Fire silently out of a Cloud before it came nigh enough to strike, and thereby secure us from that most sudden and terrible Mischief!" Subsequent to a series of experiments conducted at Franklin's own residence, lightning rods were installed on the Academy of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania) and the Pennsylvania State House (subsequently Independence Hall) in 1752.
While Franklin is primarily recognized for his kite-related lightning experiments, he is also documented for employing kites to propel individuals and vessels across aquatic environments. George Pocock, in his work A Treatise on The Aeropleustic Art, or Navigation in the Air, by means of Kites, or Buoyant Sails, cited Franklin's demonstration of personal propulsion via kite power across a waterway as an inspiration.
Thermodynamics
Franklin identified a refrigeration principle through the observation that, on a particularly hot day, he remained cooler in a wet shirt exposed to a breeze than in a dry one. To elucidate this phenomenon, he undertook experimental investigations. In 1758, during a warm day in Cambridge, England, Franklin and fellow scientist John Hadley conducted an experiment involving the continuous wetting of a mercury thermometer's bulb with ether and utilizing bellows to facilitate the ether's evaporation. Each successive evaporation resulted in a decrement in the thermometer's reading, eventually reaching 7 °F (−14 °C). A separate thermometer confirmed that the ambient room temperature remained constant at 65 °F (18 °C). In his letter Cooling by Evaporation, Franklin remarked, "One may see the possibility of freezing a man to death on a warm summer's day."
In 1761, Franklin communicated his experimental findings on the correlation between color and thermal absorption to Mary Stevenson. His observations indicated that darker-hued fabrics absorbed more solar radiation and consequently attained higher temperatures compared to lighter-colored materials, constituting an early empirical illustration of black-body thermal radiation. One experiment he performed involved placing square pieces of cloth of various colors on snow during a sunny day. After a period, he measured that the black pieces had sunk furthest into the snow among all colors, thereby demonstrating their superior heat absorption and subsequent snowmelt.
According to Michael Faraday, Franklin's investigations into the non-conductive properties of ice warrant scholarly attention, despite the fact that the overarching principle concerning the impact of liquefaction on electrolytes is not ascribed to him. Nevertheless, as documented in 1836 by Alexander Dallas Bache, Franklin's great-grandson and a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, the principle describing the influence of heat on the conductivity of otherwise non-conductive materials, such as glass, may be attributed to Franklin. Franklin wrote, "... A certain quantity of heat will make some bodies good conductors, that will not otherwise conduct ..." and further stated, "... And water, though naturally a good conductor, will not conduct well when frozen into ice."
Oceanography and Hydrodynamics
In his capacity as deputy postmaster, Franklin developed an interest in the circulatory patterns of the North Atlantic Ocean. While in England in 1768, he received a grievance from the Colonial Board of Customs. British mail packet vessels consistently required several additional weeks to reach New York compared to the transit time of typical merchant ships bound for Newport, Rhode Island. This discrepancy arose because merchantmen departed from London, undertaking a longer and more intricate voyage, whereas the packets originated from Falmouth in Cornwall. Franklin consulted his cousin, Timothy Folger, a seasoned Nantucket whaler captain, who revealed that merchant vessels habitually circumvented a robust eastbound mid-ocean current. Conversely, the mail packet captains navigated directly against this current, encountering an opposing flow of approximately 3 miles per hour (5 km/h). Collaborating with Folger and other veteran mariners, Franklin acquired sufficient knowledge to accurately map this current, subsequently naming it the Gulf Stream, a designation that persists to the present day.
Franklin's Gulf Stream chart, initially published in England in 1770, received no recognition. Later editions appeared in France in 1778 and the United States in 1786. The original British chart was so comprehensively overlooked that it was presumed lost until its rediscovery in 1980 by Phil Richardson, an oceanographer and Gulf Stream specialist from Woods Hole, at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. This significant discovery garnered front-page attention in The New York Times. British maritime captains eventually adopted Franklin's navigational recommendations for the current, subsequently reducing their transatlantic voyage times by two weeks. In 1853, oceanographer and cartographer Matthew Fontaine Maury observed that while Franklin systematically mapped and documented the Gulf Stream, he was not its initial discoverer:
While Dr. Franklin and Captain Tim Folger were the first to leverage the Gulf Stream for maritime navigation, its initial discovery cannot be ascribed to them, as its presence was already known to Peter Martyr d'Anghiera and Sir Humphrey Gilbert in the 16th century.
In 1786, an elderly Franklin compiled his comprehensive oceanographic research into Maritime Observations, which was subsequently published within the Philosophical Society's transactions. This publication presented innovative concepts, including designs for sea anchors, catamaran hulls, watertight compartments, shipboard lightning rods, and a specialized soup bowl engineered for stability during turbulent maritime conditions.
During a sea voyage, Franklin noted that a ship's wake was reduced when the galley staff discharged greasy water overboard. He subsequently investigated this phenomenon on a substantial pond located in Clapham Common, London. "I fetched out a cruet of oil and dropt a little of it on the water ... though not more than a teaspoon full, produced an instant calm over a space of several yards square." Franklin later employed this technique to "calm the waters" by carrying a small quantity of oil within the hollow joint of his cane.
Meteorological Studies
A popular narrative suggests that on October 21, 1743, a storm originating from the southwest prevented Franklin from observing a lunar eclipse. He reportedly observed that the dominant winds were, unexpectedly, from the northeast. Through correspondence with his brother, Franklin discovered that the identical storm arrived in Boston only after the eclipse, notwithstanding Boston's geographical position northeast of Philadelphia. This led him to conclude that storms do not invariably follow the direction of prevailing winds, a significant insight that profoundly impacted the field of meteorology. Following the 1783 Laki volcanic eruption in Iceland and the ensuing severe European winter of 1784, Franklin conducted investigations into the potential causal relationship between these two ostensibly distinct phenomena. His findings were subsequently presented in a series of lectures.
Demographic Studies
Franklin significantly contributed to the nascent fields of demography and population studies. During the 1730s and 1740s, he commenced documenting population growth trends, observing that the American population exhibited the highest growth rate globally. He underscored the critical dependence of population expansion on food availability, highlighting the plentiful food resources and extensive arable land in America. His calculations indicated that the American population was doubling approximately every two decades, projecting that it would exceed England's population within a century. In 1751, he authored Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. This work was anonymously published in Boston four years later and rapidly disseminated throughout Britain, where it subsequently influenced economist Adam Smith and, later, demographer Thomas Malthus, both of whom acknowledged Franklin's identification of a fundamental principle of population growth. Franklin's forecasts regarding the unsustainability of British mercantilism caused apprehension among British leaders, who, fearing being eclipsed by the colonies, consequently became more inclined to enact economic restrictions on the colonial territories.
According to Kammen (1990) and Drake (2011), Franklin's 1755 treatise, Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, is considered a seminal work in 18th-century Anglo-American demography, comparable to Ezra Stiles' 1760 "Discourse on Christian Union." Drake specifically attributes its significance to Franklin's extensive readership and prescient insights. Furthermore, Franklin's 1755 essay established him as a pioneer in the field of slave demography. Drawing upon his experience as a farmer, he authored at least one critical analysis detailing the adverse effects of price controls, trade restrictions, and welfare provisions for the impoverished. This perspective is concisely articulated in his letter to the London Chronicle, published on November 29, 1766, under the title "On the Price of Corn, and Management of the poor."
Decision-Making
In a 1772 correspondence with Joseph Priestley, Franklin articulated the earliest documented description of the pro and con list, a widely utilized decision-making methodology now occasionally referred to as a decisional balance sheet:
He detailed his method as follows:... my Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavour to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Ballance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly.
Perspectives on Religion, Morality, and Slavery
Consistent with other proponents of republicanism, Franklin underscored the imperative of public virtue for the nascent republic's endurance. Throughout his life, he investigated the significance of both civic and personal virtue, notably articulated in Poor Richard's aphorisms. While he posited that organized religion was essential for cultivating benevolence among individuals, he seldom participated in formal religious observances. During an encounter with Voltaire in Paris, Franklin requested a blessing for his grandson from the Enlightenment figure, to which Voltaire responded in English, "God and Liberty," further remarking, "this is the only appropriate benediction for the grandson of Monsieur Franklin."
Franklin's parents were devout Puritans, and the family was affiliated with the Old South Church in Boston, recognized as the most liberal Puritan congregation, where Benjamin Franklin was baptized in 1706. His father, an impoverished chandler, possessed a copy of Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good, authored by the Puritan preacher and family acquaintance Cotton Mather. Franklin frequently cited this work as a pivotal influence on his development, stating to Mather's son seven decades later, "If I have been a useful citizen, the public owes the advantage of it to that book." His initial pseudonym, Silence Dogood, served as an homage to both the book and a prominent sermon by Mather. The text advocated for the establishment of voluntary associations aimed at societal betterment. While Franklin derived the concept of benevolent associations from Mather, his exceptional organizational abilities were instrumental in embedding voluntarism as a lasting component of the American ethos.
In 1728, Franklin articulated and published his personal theological convictions. By this time, he had diverged from fundamental Puritan doctrines concerning salvation, the divinity of Jesus, and a significant portion of established religious dogma. In his 1771 autobiography, he characterized himself as a deist, yet simultaneously maintained a self-perception as a Christian. He consistently held a profound belief in God as the ultimate source of human morality and virtue, and as a Providential agent whose influence was instrumental in achieving American independence.
During a pivotal deadlock at the Constitutional Convention in June 1787, Franklin endeavored to institute the practice of daily common prayer, proposing it with the following statement:
... "In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. ... And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance. I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men....I therefore beg leave to move—that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service."
This proposal garnered minimal endorsement and consequently was never subjected to a formal vote.
During the First Great Awakening, Franklin expressed considerable admiration for the evangelical minister George Whitefield. Although he did not personally adhere to Whitefield's theological doctrines, Franklin respected Whitefield's emphasis on worshipping God through virtuous actions. Franklin capitalized on this admiration by publishing all of Whitefield's sermons and journals, a venture that proved financially lucrative and significantly advanced the Great Awakening movement.
In his autobiography, Franklin documented his perspective after ceasing regular church attendance:
... "Sunday being my studying day, I never was without some religious principles. I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that He made the world, and governed it by His providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter."
Franklin maintained an enduring adherence to the secularized Puritan virtues and political tenets assimilated during his upbringing. Through his extensive civic engagement and publishing endeavors, he successfully ingrained these values into American culture on a permanent basis. He possessed a profound "passion for virtue," encompassing Puritan ideals such as egalitarianism, dedication to education, industriousness, frugality, integrity, moderation, philanthropy, and a strong community ethos. Thomas Kidd observes, "As an adult, Franklin touted ethical responsibility, industriousness, and benevolence, even as he jettisoned Christian orthodoxy."
Enlightenment-era classical texts presented an abstract model of republican governance predicated on a hierarchical social structure comprising monarchs, aristocrats, and commoners. A prevalent belief held that English liberties were contingent upon a balance of power, alongside a hierarchical deference to the privileged classes. However, "Puritanism ... and the epidemic evangelism of the mid-eighteenth century, had created challenges to the traditional notions of social stratification" by asserting biblical principles of human equality, positing that an individual's true worth derived from moral conduct rather than social standing, and proclaiming universal salvation. Franklin, deeply influenced by Puritanism and a fervent proponent of the evangelical movement, repudiated the dogma of salvation while simultaneously adopting the revolutionary concept of egalitarian democracy.
Franklin's dedication to transmitting these values originated from his Puritan upbringing, which emphasized "inculcating virtue and character in themselves and their communities." These Puritan principles, coupled with his aspiration to perpetuate them, constituted a quintessential aspect of his American identity and significantly contributed to the formation of the nation's character. Max Weber regarded Franklin's ethical treatises as the apotheosis of the Protestant ethic, an ethos instrumental in establishing the societal prerequisites for the emergence of capitalism.
Franklin was characterized by his profound respect, tolerance, and active promotion of all religious denominations. Reflecting on his time in Philadelphia, he documented in his autobiography that "new Places of worship were continually wanted, and generally erected by voluntary Contribution, my Mite for such purpose, whatever might be the Sect, was never refused." Scholars note that he "helped create a new type of nation that would draw strength from its religious pluralism." Mid-century evangelical revivalists, including Whitefield, emerged as prominent proponents of religious freedom, asserting "liberty of conscience to be an 'inalienable right of every rational creature.'" Franklin, among Whitefield's Philadelphia supporters, contributed to the construction of "a large, new hall, that ... could provide a pulpit to anyone of any belief." His dismissal of dogma and doctrine, coupled with his emphasis on a deity associated with ethics, morality, and civic virtue, positioned him as a "prophet of tolerance." He authored "A Parable Against Persecution," an apocryphal 51st chapter of Genesis, wherein God instructs Abraham on the principle of tolerance. In 1774, during his residence in London, Franklin witnessed the inception of British Unitarianism, attending the inaugural session of the Essex Street Chapel. There, Theophilus Lindsey established England's first openly Unitarian congregation, a move that carried political risks and significantly advanced religious tolerance, given that denying the doctrine of the Trinity remained illegal until the 1813 Act.
Despite his parents' aspirations for him to pursue a career in the church, Franklin, in his youth, embraced deism, an Enlightenment religious philosophy positing that divine truths are discoverable solely through nature and reason, stating, "I soon became a thorough Deist." In 1725, he repudiated Christian dogma in his pamphlet A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, a work he later regarded with embarrassment, even as he concurrently affirmed God as "all wise, all good, all powerful." He articulated his defense against religious dogma by stating: "I think opinions should be judged by their influences and effects; and if a man holds none that tend to make him less virtuous or more vicious, it may be concluded that he holds none that are dangerous, which I hope is the case with me." Following a disillusioning period marked by a decline in his own moral standards and those of two London friends he had converted to deism, Franklin concluded that while deism held truth, it was less effective in fostering personal morality compared to the regulatory influence of organized religion. Ralph Frasca posits that in his later years, Franklin could be categorized as a non-denominational Christian, notwithstanding his disbelief in Christ's divinity.
In a significant scholarly analysis of Franklin's religious views, Thomas Kidd asserts that Franklin considered genuine religiosity to be intrinsically linked to personal morality and civic virtue. Kidd indicates that Franklin sustained a lifelong opposition to orthodox Christianity, ultimately developing a "doctrineless, moralized Christianity." David Morgan characterizes Franklin as an advocate of "generic religion." Franklin addressed his prayers to "Powerful Goodness" and designated God as "the infinite." John Adams observed that Franklin served as a reflection through which individuals perceived their own religious affiliations: "The Catholics thought him almost a Catholic. The Church of England claimed him as one of them. The Presbyterians thought him half a Presbyterian, and the Friends believed him a wet Quaker." Adams himself concluded that Franklin was most appropriately classified among "Atheists, Deists, and Libertines." Morgan ultimately concludes that, irrespective of other classifications, Franklin "was a true champion of generic religion." In correspondence with Richard Price, Franklin articulated his conviction that religion ought to be self-sustaining, independent of governmental assistance, asserting: "When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and, when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig'd to call for the help of the Civil Power, it is a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."
Approximately one month prior to his death in 1790, Franklin corresponded with Ezra Stiles, then president of Yale University, in response to an inquiry regarding his religious perspectives:
Regarding Jesus of Nazareth, Franklin expressed his conviction that the moral system and religious principles he bequeathed were unparalleled, representing the finest the world had witnessed or was likely to witness. However, he suspected these principles had undergone significant corruptions. Aligning with many contemporary Dissenters in England, Franklin harbored reservations concerning Jesus's divinity, though he refrained from dogmatizing on the matter, having not thoroughly investigated it. He deemed further study unnecessary, anticipating a less arduous path to truth in the near future. Nevertheless, Franklin perceived no detriment in the belief in Jesus's divinity, particularly if it fostered greater respect and adherence to his teachings. He also noted no divine disapproval directed specifically at non-believers within the world's governance.
On July 4, 1776, a three-member congressional committee, comprising Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams, was tasked with designing the Great Seal of the United States. Franklin's submission, ultimately not adopted, proposed the motto: "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God." His design incorporated a scene from the Book of Exodus, derived from the Geneva Bible's frontispiece, depicting Moses, the Israelites, the pillar of fire, and King George III represented as Pharaoh.
Congress did not act upon the initial design produced, and the Great Seal's final configuration was not established until a third committee was convened in 1782.
Franklin was a staunch advocate for the right to freedom of speech, articulating his views as follows:
He contended that in oppressive nations where individuals lack control over their expression, they possess little else. Franklin asserted that any attempt to dismantle national liberty must commence with the suppression of free speech. He further posited that wisdom is unattainable without freedom of thought, and public liberty is impossible without freedom of speech, which he considered an inherent right of every individual.
Thirteen Virtues
At the age of 20 in 1726, Franklin devised a systematic plan for character development based on 13 virtues, which he endeavored to practice throughout his life. His autobiography enumerates these 13 virtues as:
- Temperance: Avoid overeating to the point of dullness; refrain from excessive drinking that leads to intoxication.
- Silence: Engage in discourse only when it benefits oneself or others; eschew trivial conversations.
- Order: Ensure all possessions are in their designated places; allocate specific times for each task or business activity.
- Resolution: Determine to execute necessary actions; unfailingly accomplish what has been resolved.
- Frugality: Incur expenses solely for the benefit of oneself or others; avoid all forms of waste.
- Industry: Utilize time efficiently; consistently engage in productive activities; eliminate all superfluous actions.
- Sincerity: Abstain from harmful deception; cultivate innocent and just thoughts, and align speech with these principles.
- Justice: Avoid harming others through injurious acts or by neglecting duties that provide benefit.
- Moderation: Eschew extremes; temper resentment of injuries, even if perceived as deserved.
- Cleanliness: Maintain a strict standard of cleanliness for one's body, attire, and living environment.
- Tranquility: Remain undisturbed by minor annoyances or by common and unavoidable misfortunes.
- Chastity: Engage in sexual activity infrequently, primarily for health or procreation, never to the point of mental dullness, physical weakness, or detriment to one's own or another's peace or reputation.
- Humility: Emulate the examples of Jesus and Socrates.
Franklin did not attempt to cultivate all virtues simultaneously; instead, he focused on one each week, allowing the others to progress naturally. Although he acknowledged frequently falling short of these enumerated virtues, he maintained that the endeavor itself improved him, significantly contributing to his success and contentment. Consequently, his autobiography dedicates more space to this plan than to any other topic, where he expressed his aspiration that his descendants might emulate his practice and derive similar advantages.
Slavery
Franklin's perspectives and engagement with slavery underwent significant transformation throughout his lifetime. Initially, Franklin possessed seven enslaved individuals, two of whom were employed in his residence and business establishment; however, in his later years, he embraced the principles of abolitionism. His newspaper generated income through advertisements for slave sales and the apprehension of escaped slaves, and his general store facilitated such transactions. Subsequently, he emerged as a prominent opponent of slavery. In 1758, he championed the establishment of an educational institution for enslaved Black individuals in Philadelphia. He traveled to England accompanied by two enslaved persons, Peter and King. King absconded with a woman to reside on the periphery of London and, by 1758, was employed in a Suffolk household. Upon his return from England in 1762, Franklin adopted a more pronounced abolitionist stance, actively criticizing American slavery. Following the landmark decision in Somerset v Stewart, he expressed considerable dissatisfaction with British abolitionists, stating:
O Pharisaical Britain! to pride thyself in setting free a single Slave that happens to land on thy coasts, while thy Merchants in all thy ports are encouraged by thy laws to continue a commerce whereby so many hundreds of thousands are dragged into a slavery that can scarce be said to end with their lives, since it is entailed on their posterity!
During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Franklin declined to engage in public discourse regarding the institution of slavery.
During the foundational period of the United States, approximately half a million enslaved individuals resided within the nation, predominantly concentrated in the five southernmost states, where they constituted 40% of the populace. While numerous prominent American founders, including Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison, were slaveholders, many others were not. Benjamin Franklin characterized slavery as "an atrocious debasement of human nature" and "a source of serious evils." In 1787, Franklin collaborated with Benjamin Rush to draft a revised constitution for the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, assuming the presidency of the organization in the same year. By 1790, Quaker communities from New York and Pennsylvania submitted a petition for abolition to Congress, with their anti-slavery arguments receiving endorsement from the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society.
During his final years, as the United States Congress confronted the imperative of addressing slavery, Franklin authored multiple essays emphasizing the critical importance of abolishing slavery and facilitating the integration of African Americans into American society. These publications comprised:
- An Address to the Public (1789)
- A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789)
- Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim on the Slave Trade (1790)
Vegetarianism
Franklin adopted vegetarianism during his adolescence while serving an apprenticeship at a print shop, influenced by encountering a publication by the early vegetarian proponent Thomas Tryon. Furthermore, he was likely acquainted with the ethical arguments advanced by notable vegetarian Quakers in the colonial Province of Pennsylvania, such as Benjamin Lay and John Woolman. His rationale for embracing a vegetarian diet encompassed considerations of health, ethics, and economic prudence:
When about 16 years of age, I happen'd to meet with a book written by one Tryon, recommending a vegetable diet. I determined to go into it ... [By not eating meat] I presently found that I could save half what [my brother] paid me. This was an additional fund for buying books: but I had another advantage in it ... I made the greater progress from that greater clearness of head and quicker apprehension which usually attend temperance in eating and drinking.
Franklin additionally characterized the consumption of fish as "unprovoked murder." Notwithstanding these convictions, he commenced eating fish after being enticed by fried cod during a sea voyage from Boston. He rationalized the consumption of animals by noting the presence of other fish within the stomach of the fish he consumed. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the ethical shortcomings of this justification and maintained an intermittent vegetarian practice. He expressed considerable interest in tofu, having learned about it through the writings of Domingo Fernández Navarrete, a Spanish missionary to Southeast Asia. Franklin dispatched a soybean sample to the distinguished American botanist John Bartram and had previously corresponded with James Flint, a British diplomat and expert on Chinese trade, to inquire about tofu production. This correspondence is widely considered to represent the earliest documented instance of the term "tofu" in the English language.
Franklin's "Second Reply to Vindex Patriae,," a 1766 letter which championed American self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on England, enumerated numerous examples of abundant American agricultural produce, notably omitting any mention of meat. In describing emerging American customs, he observed: "[t]hey resolved last spring to eat no more lamb; and not a joint of lamb has since been seen on any of their tables ... the sweet little creatures are all alive to this day, with the prettiest fleeces on their backs imaginable."
Views on Inoculation
The practice of variolation, a method for preventing smallpox, was introduced to colonial America in the early eighteenth century by an enslaved African named Onesimus, through his owner Cotton Mather. However, this procedure did not gain immediate acceptance. In 1721, James Franklin's newspaper published articles that vehemently condemned the practice.
By 1736, Benjamin Franklin had become a recognized proponent of variolation. Consequently, following the death of his four-year-old son, Franky, from smallpox, opponents of variolation disseminated rumors alleging that the child had been inoculated and that this intervention had caused his demise. Upon learning of these unsubstantiated claims, Franklin published a notice in the Pennsylvania Gazette, asserting: "I do hereby sincerely declare, that he was not inoculated, but receiv'd the Distemper in the common Way of Infection ... I intended to have my Child inoculated." His son had been suffering from severe diarrheal flux, and his parents had postponed inoculation until his recovery. In his Autobiography, Franklin reflected: "In 1736 I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the small-pox, taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen."
Views on the Future of Technology
In a letter addressed to Joseph Priestley on February 8, 1780, Franklin posited that, in the future, "all Diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured, not excepting even that of Old Age, and our Lives lengthened at pleasure even beyond the antediluvian Standard." Within the same correspondence, Franklin further articulated:
The rapid progress true science now makes, occasions my regretting sometimes that I was born so soon: it is impossible to imagine the height to which may be carried, in a thousand years, the power of man over matter; we may perhaps learn to deprive large masses of their gravity, and give them absolute levity for the sake of easy transport. Agriculture may diminish its labour and double its produce...
In 1773, Franklin conceptualized a technology bearing resemblance to modern cryonics:
I wish it were possible to invent a method of embalming drowned persons in such a manner that they might be recalled to life at any period, however distant; for having a very ardent desire to see and observe the state of America a hundred years hence...
Interests and Activities
Musical Endeavors
Franklin was proficient in playing the violin, harp, and guitar. He also composed musical pieces, notably a string quartet in the early classical style. During his time in London, he significantly refined the glass harmonica, designing a version where the glasses rotated on a central shaft while the player's fingers remained stationary, a reversal of the previous method. Collaborating with London glassblower Charles James, Franklin developed this instrument, and mechanical versions based on his design rapidly disseminated across Europe. Joseph Haydn, an admirer of Franklin's progressive concepts, included a glass harmonica in his personal instrument collection. Both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven composed works featuring Franklin's glass harmonica. Gaetano Donizetti incorporated the instrument into the accompaniment for Amelia's aria "Par che mi dica ancora" in his 1821 tragic opera Il castello di Kenilworth, a practice also adopted by Camille Saint-Saëns in his 1886 work The Carnival of the Animals. Richard Strauss specified the glass harmonica in his 1917 opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, and numerous other composers similarly utilized Franklin's innovative instrument.
Chess
Franklin was an enthusiastic proponent of chess, commencing play around 1733, which establishes him as the earliest documented chess player in the American colonies. His treatise, "The Morals of Chess," published in Columbian Magazine in December 1786, represents the second recorded work on chess originating from America. This particular essay, which lauded the game of chess and delineated a code of conduct for its players, has achieved extensive reprinting and translation. Franklin and a companion utilized chess as an instructional tool for their Italian language studies; the victor of each match was entitled to assign a task, such as memorizing specific grammatical components, to be completed by the loser prior to their subsequent encounter.
During his extensive tenure as a civil servant and diplomat in England, Franklin engaged in chess more frequently and against more formidable opponents, given the game's significantly greater establishment there compared to America. This period facilitated an enhancement of his playing proficiency through encounters with more seasoned practitioners. He routinely frequented Old Slaughter's Coffee House in London for both chess and social engagement, thereby cultivating numerous significant personal connections. In Paris, both during his visits and later as an ambassador, he frequented the renowned Café de la Régence, a customary gathering place for France's most skilled chess players. The absence of surviving game records precludes any contemporary assessment of his playing strength.
Franklin received induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999. The Franklin Mercantile Chess Club in Philadelphia, recognized as the second oldest chess club in the United States, bears his name as an honorific.
Legacy
Bequest
Franklin designated a bequest of £1,000 (approximately $4,400 contemporaneously, or about $125,000 in 2021 currency) to each of the cities of Boston and Philadelphia, establishing a trust intended to accrue interest over a period of 200 years. The inception of this trust in 1785 was influenced by the French mathematician Charles-Joseph Mathon de la Cour, a profound admirer of Franklin, who authored a benevolent parody of Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack titled Fortunate Richard. Within this parody, the protagonist's will allocates a modest sum, specifically five parcels of 100 livres each, to accumulate interest over periods ranging from one to five centuries, with the eventual astronomical totals earmarked for exceedingly intricate utopian endeavors. Franklin, then aged 79, responded by expressing gratitude for the innovative concept and disclosing his decision to establish a bequest of 1,000 pounds for both his birthplace, Boston, and his adopted city, Philadelphia.
By 1990, Franklin's Philadelphia trust had amassed over $2,000,000 (equivalent to approximately $4.23 million in 2024), funds which had been disbursed as loans to local residents. Between 1940 and 1990, the principal application of these funds was for mortgage lending. Upon the trust's maturation, the city of Philadelphia resolved to allocate the proceeds towards scholarships for its local high school students. Concurrently, Franklin's Boston trust fund accrued nearly $5,000,000 during that same time; after its initial century, a segment of these funds was designated to facilitate the establishment of a trade school, which subsequently evolved into the Franklin Institute of Boston, with the entirety of the fund later committed to its ongoing support.
During 1787, a consortium of distinguished clergy in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, advanced a proposal for the establishment of a new collegiate institution to be named in honor of Franklin. Franklin contributed £200 towards the foundational development of Franklin College, presently known as Franklin & Marshall College.
Likeness and image
Distinguished as the sole individual to affix his signature to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Treaty of Alliance with France in 1778, the Treaty of Paris in 1783, and the U.S. Constitution in 1787, Franklin is recognized as a preeminent Founding Father of the United States. His profound and pervasive influence throughout the nascent history of the nation has resulted in his colloquial appellation as "the only president of the United States who was never president of the United States."
Franklin's effigy is widely pervasive. Since 1914, his image has graced the American $100 bill. Between 1948 and 1963, Franklin's portrait was featured on the half-dollar coin. He has also been depicted on a $50 bill and on multiple iterations of the $100 bill issued in 1914 and 1918. Furthermore, Franklin's image is present on the $1,000 Series EE savings bond.
On April 12, 1976, a 20-foot (6 m) marble statue was formally dedicated as the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial within Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, commemorating the bicentennial. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller officiated at this dedication ceremony. The institute also exhibits numerous personal artifacts belonging to Franklin. In London, his residence at 36 Craven Street, notable as Franklin's sole surviving former home, was initially marked with a blue plaque and subsequently opened to the public as the Benjamin Franklin House. During restoration efforts in 1998, workers unearthed the remains of six children and four adults concealed beneath the property. Subsequently, a cumulative total of 15 bodies was recovered from the site. The Friends of Benjamin Franklin House, the organization overseeing the restoration, posits that William Hewson, who resided in the house for two years and established a small anatomy school at the rear of the property, likely deposited these remains. They further suggest that while Franklin was probably aware of Hewson's activities, his primary role as a physicist rather than a medical practitioner indicates his probable non-participation in any dissections.
Benjamin Franklin has been frequently commemorated on U.S. postage stamps. As the inaugural Postmaster General of the United States, Franklin's likeness appears on U.S. postage more often than any other American figure, with the sole exception of George Washington. His image was featured on the first U.S. postage stamp, issued in 1847. Between 1908 and 1923, the U.S. Post Office released the "Washington–Franklin Issues," a series of stamps prominently featuring both Washington and Franklin over a 14-year span, marking the longest continuous run for any single series in U.S. postal history. Nevertheless, his presence on commemorative stamps is limited. Notably, some of the most distinguished depictions of Franklin are found in the engravings featured on U.S. postage.
Benjamin Franklin's Representation in Popular Culture
- Benjamin Franklin in popular culture
- Bibliography of Early American Publishers and Printers
- Founders Online: A Database of Franklin's Papers
- Franklin's Electrostatic Machine
- The Fugio Cent, a 1787 Coin Designed by Franklin
- List of Early American Publishers and Printers
- List of Opponents of Slavery
- List of Historically Wealthy Americans
- The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
- The Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism: 1784 Investigations by French Scientific Bodies Utilizing Systematic Controlled Trials
Citations
- Benjamin Franklin Papers, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.
- Video with sheet music of Benjamin Franklin's string quartet
- "Special Report: Citizen Ben's Greatest Virtues" – Time
- Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History – Leo Lemay at the University of Delaware
- Benjamin Franklin: First American Diplomat, 1776–1785 – U.S. State Department
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Franklin, Benjamin" . In Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Online writings
- Abridgement of the Book of Common Prayer (1773), by Benjamin Franklin and Francis Dashwood, transcribed by Richard Mammana
- Franklin's Last Will & Testament Transcription.
- The Library of Congress provides a resource titled Benjamin Franklin ... In His Own Words.
- Online Works by Franklin
- Public domain audiobooks by Benjamin Franklin are available.
- Works by Benjamin Franklin are accessible in eBook format.
- Works by Benjamin Franklin are available.
- Works by or about Benjamin Franklin are accessible.
- The Yale edition constitutes the standard scholarly compilation of Franklin's complete works.
Autobiography
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is available.
- A recording of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is accessible.
In the Arts
- The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary commemorated Benjamin Franklin 300 (1706–2006).
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania maintains a collection of Benjamin Franklin's papers, encompassing correspondence, government documents, various writings, and a copy of his will, all accessible for research purposes at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.