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Benjamin Franklin was born on 17 Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts Bay.

Birthplace and Parents

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston in what was known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was born on a small house on 17 Milk Street, across the street from the Old Meeting House. His father was Josiah Franklin, soap and candle maker. His mother was Abiah Folger, a home maker. Franklin was raised as a Presbyterian.

His father, Josiah Franklin, emigrated from England in 1682. He had 7 children with his first wife, when she died he married Abiah Folger and had 10 more children, a total of 17 in which Benjamin was the 15 th and youngest son. His mother, Abiah Franklin (Folger) was the daughter of Peter Folger, one of the first settlers of New England.

A bust on the second floor of 17 Milk Street commemorates Franklin’s birth.

Boston Latin School is the oldest school in America. It was founded April 23, 1635.

At 8 years old young Benjamin Franklin started attending South Grammar School (Boston Latin) showing early talent moving from the middle of the class to the top of it within a year. The following year he attended George Brownell’s English School, a school for writing and arithmetic. He showed great talent for writing and little for arithmetic.

Young Franklin loved reading; he would borrow books from friends and save every penny to buy books. When he was 16 he became a vegetarian partly because he did not like to eat anything that was killed and partly to save money to buy books. He read voraciously trying to improve his writing style, grammar and eloquence.

His father intended for Benjamin, as his youngest son, to serve in church but he showed no inclination for it. Unfortunately he had to cut his education short as his father could not afford paying for it.

Apprenticeship

Josiah Franklin’s candle and soap shop was located at Hanover and Union streets.

At 10 his father took him in as an apprentice in his soap and candle making shop. This shop was located at Hanover & Union streets, the building was torn down in 1858.

Benjamin was in charge of cutting wicks for candles, filling molds, attending the shop and running errands. His father intended for his young son to inherit the business when he retired however Benjamin did not want to follow his father’s steps, he wanted to be a sailor. He was employed in this father’s business for 2 years.

In 1717 his brother James returned from England with a press and letters to set his printing business in Boston. To prevent Benjamin from becoming a sailor, as his brother Josiah had, his father sent him to work with his brother James as an apprentice. He made him sign an indenture for his apprenticeship which bounded him until he turned 21 and only then he could earn wages.

His brother was abusive partly because Benjamin showed talent. Confrontations were taken to his father who usually ruled against James.

The New England Courant

Even after Benjamin ran away to Philadelphia the New England Courant continued to be published under his name until it ceased publication in 1726.

In 1721 James Franklin founded the New England Courant; the second newspaper in America, the first one was the Boston Newsletter.

Benjamin was in charge of setting the letters for the printer and sell newspapers door to door. This job did not satisfy him, he wanted to write but knew his brother would object. One day he left an anonymous article under the door of the print house signed under the pen name of Silence Dogood. From April to October 1722 he submitted 14 Dogood letters which were well received and published by the Courant. Dogood was a fictitious character, the widow of a country minister, “an Enemy to Vice, and a Friend to Virtue”. She abhorred arbitrary government and unlimited power.

The New England Courant was a liberal newspaper publishing humorous articles and cartoons against the colonial government. One of the pieces published in June 1722 offended the Assembly and James was jailed for two weeks for contempt as he did not disclose the author. While James was in jail Benjamin ran the business.

When James was discharged he was prohibited from printing the Courant so it was advertised as printed by Benjamin Franklin.

The Courant was published until June 1726 for a total of 255 issues. Conservative and puritanical Boston was no place for a publication like the Courant. James was the first fighter for journalistic freedom in America and the most important journalistic influence on Benjamin Franklin.  James Franklin closed up his printing shop and moved to more liberal Rhode Island.

To Philadelphia

When James was banned from printing the Courant, Benjamin was secretly discharged of his apprenticeship so that the newspapaer was pretended to be printed by him. In 1723 at age 17, Benjamin took advantage of this clause and decided to leave his abusive brother and go to New York in search of work.

He left Boston to New York with very little money in his pocket. Unable to find work in New York he proceeded to Philadelphia where he found employment in the printing house of Samuel Keimer. He lodged in John Read’s house. Franklin eventually married his daughter, Deborah Read, in 1730.

Philadelphia was a city with a population of 2,500. It had been founded in 1682 and by 1720 it had become an important trading center and a major port. The first immigrants were Quakers followed by Mennonites, Jews, Catholics and Anglicans which called for more religion tolerance than Protestant Boston.

Through his brother-in-law, Robert Holmes, he met Sir William Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania. He liked Franklin’s company and usually took him to dine in his home. The governor offered him government business if he was to set up his own printing shop. With a recommendation letter from the governor and after a 7 month absence Franklin returned to Boston to ask his father for a loan.

Back in Boston his father declined to give him the loan, in his opinion he was still too young to be trusted with the management of a business and a great amount of money. Josiah Franklin was proud of his son for obtaining such important recommendation form a governor and creating a good reputation in such a short period of time. He promised him that when he turned 21 he would help him financially.

Franklin returned to Philadelphia where he continued working for Samuel Keimer.

During this time he was courting Deborah Read, the daughter of his landlady. Her mother refused to let her marry before Franklin’s trip to England.

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Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who never served as president but was a respected inventor, publisher, scientist and diplomat.

Quick Facts

Silence dogood, living in london, wife and children, life in philadelphia, poor richard's almanack, scientist and inventor, electricity, election to the government, stamp act and declaration of independence, life in paris, drafting the u.s. constitution, accomplishments, who was benjamin franklin.

Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father and a polymath, inventor, scientist, printer, politician, freemason and diplomat. Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution , and he negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War .

His scientific pursuits included investigations into electricity, mathematics and mapmaking. A writer known for his wit and wisdom, Franklin also published Poor Richard’s Almanack , invented bifocal glasses and organized the first successful American lending library.

FULL NAME: Benjamin Franklin BORN: January 17, 1706 DIED: April 17, 1790 BIRTHPLACE: Boston, Massachusetts SPOUSE: Deborah Read (1730-1774) CHILDREN: William, Francis, Sarah ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn

Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, in what was then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Franklin’s father, English-born soap and candlemaker Josiah Franklin, had seven children with first wife, Anne Child, and 10 more with second wife, Abiah Folger. Franklin was his 15th child and youngest son.

Franklin learned to read at an early age, and despite his success at the Boston Latin School, he stopped his formal schooling at 10 to work full-time in his cash-strapped father’s candle and soap shop. Dipping wax and cutting wicks didn’t fire the young boy’s imagination, however.

Perhaps to dissuade him from going to sea as one of his other sons had done, Josiah apprenticed 12-year-old Franklin at the print shop run by his older brother James.

Although James mistreated and frequently beat his younger brother, Franklin learned a great deal about newspaper publishing and adopted a similar brand of subversive politics under the printer’s tutelage.

When James refused to publish any of his brother’s writing, 16-year-old Franklin adopted the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, and “her” 14 imaginative and witty letters delighted readers of his brother’s newspaper, The New England Courant . James grew angry, however, when he learned that his apprentice had penned the letters.

Tired of his brother’s “harsh and tyrannical” behavior, Franklin fled Boston in 1723 although he had three years remaining on a legally binding contract with his master.

He escaped to New York before settling in Philadelphia and began working with another printer. Philadelphia became his home base for the rest of his life.

Encouraged by Pennsylvania Governor William Keith to set up his own print shop, Franklin left for London in 1724 to purchase supplies from stationers, booksellers and printers. When the teenager arrived in England, however, he felt duped when Keith’s letters of introduction never arrived as promised.

Although forced to find work at London’s print shops, Franklin took full advantage of the city’s pleasures—attending theater performances, mingling with the locals in coffee houses and continuing his lifelong passion for reading.

A self-taught swimmer who crafted his own wooden flippers, Franklin performed long-distance swims on the Thames River. (In 1968, he was inducted as an honorary member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame .)

In 1725 Franklin published his first pamphlet, "A Dissertation upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain," which argued that humans lack free will and, thus, are not morally responsible for their actions. (Franklin later repudiated this thought and burned all but one copy of the pamphlet still in his possession.)

In 1723, after Franklin moved from Boston to Philadelphia, he lodged at the home of John Read, where he met and courted his landlord’s daughter Deborah.

After Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1726, he discovered that Deborah had married in the interim, only to be abandoned by her husband just months after the wedding.

The future Founding Father rekindled his romance with Deborah Read and he took her as his common-law wife in 1730. Around that time, Franklin fathered a son, William, out of wedlock who was taken in by the couple. The pair’s first son, Francis, was born in 1732, but he died four years later of smallpox. The couple’s only daughter, Sarah, was born in 1743.

The two times Franklin moved to London, in 1757 and again in 1764, it was without Deborah, who refused to leave Philadelphia. His second stay was the last time the couple saw each other. Franklin would not return home before Deborah passed away in 1774 from a stroke at the age of 66.

In 1762, Franklin’s son William took office as New Jersey’s royal governor, a position his father arranged through his political connections in the British government. Franklin’s later support for the patriot cause put him at odds with his loyalist son. When the New Jersey militia stripped William Franklin of his post as royal governor and imprisoned him in 1776, his father chose not to intercede on his behalf.

After his return to Philadelphia in 1726, Franklin held varied jobs including bookkeeper, shopkeeper and currency cutter. In 1728 he returned to a familiar trade - printing paper currency - in New Jersey before partnering with a friend to open his own print shop in Philadelphia that published government pamphlets and books.

In 1730 Franklin was named the official printer of Pennsylvania. By that time, he had formed the “Junto,” a social and self-improvement study group for young men that met every Friday to debate morality, philosophy and politics.

When Junto members sought to expand their reading choices, Franklin helped to incorporate America’s first subscription library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, in 1731.

In 1729 Franklin published another pamphlet, "A Modest Enquiry into The Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency," which advocated for an increase in the money supply to stimulate the economy.

With the cash Franklin earned from his money-related treatise, he was able to purchase The Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper from a former boss. Under his ownership, the struggling newspaper was transformed into the most widely-read paper in the colonies and became one of the first to turn a profit.

He had less luck in 1732 when he launched the first German-language newspaper in the colonies, the short-lived Philadelphische Zeitung . Nonetheless, Franklin’s prominence and success grew during the 1730s.

Franklin amassed real estate and businesses and organized the volunteer Union Fire Company to counteract dangerous fire hazards in Philadelphia. He joined the Freemasons in 1731 and was eventually elected grand master of the Masons of Pennsylvania.

At the end of 1732, Franklin published the first edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack .

In addition to weather forecasts, astronomical information and poetry, the almanac—which Franklin published for 25 consecutive years—included proverbs and Franklin’s witty maxims such as “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” and “He that lies down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas.”

In the 1740s, Franklin expanded into science and entrepreneurship. His 1743 pamphlet "A Proposal for Promoting Useful Knowledge" underscored his interests and served as the founding document of the American Philosophical Society , the first scientific society in the colonies.

By 1748, the 42-year-old Franklin had become one of the richest men in Pennsylvania, and he became a soldier in the Pennsylvania militia. He turned his printing business over to a partner to give himself more time to conduct scientific experiments. He moved into a new house in 1748.

Franklin was a prolific inventor and scientist who was responsible for the following inventions:

• Franklin stove : Franklin’s first invention, created around 1740, provided more heat with less fuel.
• Bifocals : Anyone tired of switching between two pairs of glasses understands why Franklin developed bifocals that could be used for both distance and reading.
• Armonica : Franklin’s inventions took on a musical bent when, in 1761, he commenced development on the armonica, a musical instrument composed of spinning glass bowls on a shaft. Both Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed music for the strange instrument.
• Rocking chair
• Flexible catheter
• American penny

Franklin also discovered the Gulf Stream after his return trip across the Atlantic Ocean from London in 1775. He began to speculate about why the westbound trip always took longer, and his measurements of ocean temperatures led to his discovery of the existence of the Gulf Stream. This knowledge served to cut two weeks off the previous sailing time from Europe to North America.

Franklin even devised a new “scheme” for the alphabet that proposed to eliminate the letters C, J, Q, W, X and Y as redundant.

Franklin’s self-education earned him honorary degrees from Harvard , Yale , England’s University of Oxford and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

In 1749, Franklin wrote a pamphlet concerning the education of youth in Pennsylvania that resulted in the establishment of the Academy of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania .

In 1752, Franklin conducted the famous kite-and-key experiment to demonstrate that lightning was electricity and soon after invented the lightning rod.

His investigations into electrical phenomena were compiled into “Experiments and Observations on Electricity,” published in England in 1751. He coined new electricity-related terms that are still part of the lexicon, such as battery, charge, conductor and electrify.

In 1748, Franklin acquired the first of several enslaved people to work in his new home and in the print shop. Franklin’s views on slavery evolved over the following decades to the point that he considered the institution inherently evil, and thus, he freed his enslaved people in the 1760s.

Later in life, he became more vociferous in his opposition to slavery. Franklin served as president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and wrote many tracts urging the abolition of slavery . In 1790 he petitioned the U.S. Congress to end slavery and the trade.

Franklin became a member of Philadelphia’s city council in 1748 and a justice of the peace the following year. In 1751, he was elected a Philadelphia alderman and a representative to the Pennsylvania Assembly, a position to which he was re-elected annually until 1764. Two years later, he accepted a royal appointment as deputy postmaster general of North America.

When the French and Indian War began in 1754, Franklin called on the colonies to band together for their common defense, which he dramatized in The Pennsylvania Gazette with a cartoon of a snake cut into sections with the caption “Join or Die.”

He represented Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress, which adopted his proposal to create a unified government for the 13 colonies. Franklin’s “Plan of Union,” however, failed to be ratified by the colonies.

In 1757 Franklin was appointed by the Pennsylvania Assembly to serve as the colony’s agent in England. Franklin sailed to London to negotiate a long-standing dispute with the proprietors of the colony, the Penn family, taking William and his two enslaved people but leaving behind Deborah and Sarah.

He spent much of the next two decades in London, where he was drawn to the high society and intellectual salons of the cosmopolitan city.

After Franklin returned to Philadelphia in 1762, he toured the colonies to inspect its post offices.

After Franklin lost his seat in the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1764, he returned to London as the colony’s agent. Franklin returned at a tense time in Great Britain’s relations with the American colonies.

The British Parliament ’s passage of the Stamp Act in March 1765 imposed a highly unpopular tax on all printed materials for commercial and legal use in the American colonies. Since Franklin purchased stamps for his printing business and nominated a friend as the Pennsylvania stamp distributor, some colonists thought Franklin implicitly supported the new tax, and rioters in Philadelphia even threatened his house.

Franklin’s passionate denunciation of the tax in testimony before Parliament, however, contributed to the Stamp Act’s repeal in 1766.

Two years later he penned a pamphlet, “Causes of the American Discontents before 1768,” and he soon became an agent for Massachusetts, Georgia and New Jersey as well. Franklin fanned the flames of revolution by sending the private letters of Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson to America.

The letters called for the restriction of the rights of colonists, which caused a firestorm after their publication by Boston newspapers. In the wake of the scandal, Franklin was removed as deputy postmaster general, and he returned to North America in 1775 as a devotee of the patriot cause.

In 1775, Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and appointed the first postmaster general for the colonies. In 1776, he was appointed commissioner to Canada and was one of five men to draft the Declaration of Independence.

After voting for independence in 1776, Franklin was elected commissioner to France, making him essentially the first U.S. ambassador to France. He set sail to negotiate a treaty for the country’s military and financial support.

Much has been made of Franklin’s years in Paris, chiefly his rich romantic life in his nine years abroad after Deborah’s death. At the age of 74, he even proposed marriage to a widow named Madame Helvetius, but she rejected him.

Franklin was embraced in France as much, if not more, for his wit and intellectual standing in the scientific community as for his status as a political appointee from a fledgling country.

His reputation facilitated respect and entrees into closed communities, including the court of King Louis XVI . And it was his adept diplomacy that led to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which ended the Revolutionary War. After almost a decade in France, Franklin returned to the United States in 1785.

Franklin was elected in 1787 to represent Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention , which drafted and ratified the new U.S. Constitution.

The oldest delegate at the age of 81, Franklin initially supported proportional representation in Congress, but he fashioned the Great Compromise that resulted in proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation by state in the Senate . In 1787, he helped found the Society for Political Inquiries, dedicated to improving knowledge of government.

Franklin was never elected president of the United States. However, he played an important role as one of eight Founding Fathers, helping draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

He also served several roles in the government: He was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly and appointed as the first postmaster general for the colonies as well as diplomat to France. He was a true polymath and entrepreneur, which is no doubt why he is often called the "First American."

Franklin died on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the home of his daughter, Sarah Bache. He was 84, suffered from gout and had complained of ailments for some time, completing the final codicil to his will a little more than a year and a half prior to his death.

He bequeathed most of his estate to Sarah and very little to his son William, whose opposition to the patriot cause still stung him. He also donated money that funded scholarships, schools and museums in Boston and Philadelphia.

Franklin had actually written his epitaph when he was 22: “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 Lost; For it will (as he Believ'd) Appear once More In a New and More Elegant Edition Revised and Corrected By the Author.”

In the end, however, the stone on the grave he shared with his wife in the cemetery of Philadelphia’s Christ Church reads simply, “Benjamin and Deborah Franklin 1790.”

The image of Franklin that has come down through history, along with his likeness on the $100 bill, is something of a caricature—a bald man in a frock coat holding a kite string with a key attached. But the scope of things he applied himself to was so broad it seems a shame.

Founding universities and libraries, the post office, shaping the foreign policy of the fledgling United States, helping to draft the Declaration of Independence, publishing newspapers, warming us with the Franklin stove, pioneering advances in science, letting us see with bifocals and lighting our way with electricity—all from a man who never finished school but shaped his life through abundant reading and experience, a strong moral compass and an unflagging commitment to civic duty. Franklin illuminated corners of American life that still have the lingering glow of his attention.

• A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.
• Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.
• From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books.
• So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.
• In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.
• Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.
• There never was a good war or a bad peace.
• In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
• Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.
• He does not possess wealth, it possesses him.
• Experience keeps a dear school, yet fools will learn in no other.

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Revolutionary War

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Benjamin Franklin Biography: His Life and Important Facts

Although Benjamin Franklin was not a soldier, his diplomacy secured French support during the Revolutionary War. This biography gives the important facts about his life and his role in the War for Independence.

Benjamin Franklin Childhood

Ben was born on January 17, 1706, the tenth of seventeen children. As a child, his father planned for him to be a clergyman, but they were in no financial state for that to happen.

Due to lack of money, Ben only ever attended one year of school. Instead of schooling him, his father sent him off to apprentice to his older brother at a printing shop. Ben loved to read, so he enjoyed printing, for he was able to read the many writings that came through their newspaper.

Benjamin Franklin: Printer and Writer

Ben wanted very badly to write for the paper, but his brother would not let him.

Being the bright young boy that he was, Ben found a way to write anyway. He posed as an old widow and wrote papers, which he slipped under the door at night.

The public loved this mysterious old woman who was very witty and most opinionated. Finally, after some weeks, he revealed himself. Although the public loved him and commended him for it, his brother was infuriated.

He was scolded and beaten for being such a rotten fellow. This was the last time he was to do this. A few years later his brother was put in jail for a very offensive writing he put in his newspaper about a certain family. Ben was left to run the printer shop alone until his brother was finished serving his time in jail.

Ben did an excellent job running the place and kept everything in good order. When his brother was released, instead of thanking Ben for keeping everything running, he paid no attention to him and went on to scold him later for some wrongdoing.

A few months later when Ben was beaten for being late, he decided to run away.

Benjamin Franklin: On His Own

Benjamin Franklin tried to get a job as a printer, but failed and ended up on a ship to Philadelphia. There he spent the last of his money to buy bread for a meal.

He was spotted wandering the streets by  Deborah Read , who after many twists and turns, would become his wife.

She saw him, felt bad for him, and he invited him into the house.

The Read family took him in and helped him get a job. He worked as an assistant printer for some time.

Eventually, the governor took notice of him and offered to get him started in his own shop if he would only go to England and buy fonts. Naturally, Ben took him up on this offer and headed to London.

While he was in London he received a letter stating that the governor backed down on his deal, so he would no longer pay for him to start his business.

Also while he was in London, Deborah wrote some letters suggesting that they consider getting married; however, Ben said he was not yet ready. Apparently, he took too long to get ready, for upon his return he discovered that she had married another man.

Benjamin Franklin decided to resume his old job as a printer’s apprentice. Soon, though, he realized that he was much better at printing than his master, so he quit his job and started his own printing shop.

Married Life

In the prime of his business he fathered a son named William. To this day only Ben knew who the mother was.

When William was two, Deborah’s husband ran off with another woman and was not seen again, so Benjamin Franklin took his childhood love to be his bride.

p>He and Deborah made off very well in the world. She ran a shop with all sorts of odd and ends, and he owned a printing shop and bookstore. People said they never saw a happier pair.

Declaration of Independence, with Benjamin Franklin’s signature

Ben did all sorts of things for the city of Philadelphia, so his social status grew. He was elected to represent the state of Pennsylvania in the  Second Continental Congress , a position he accepted.

Benjamin Franklin: Spy

He ended up being sent over to England on several occasions to spy out different things in parliament. Because of his family’s loyalty to the crown, it was not hard to get in and out of there without suspicion.

Unfortunately, when he shared his views of the revolution with his son William, they disagreed. This brought a permanent separation between them. Right after Benjamin Franklin, as part of the Committee of Five, finished helping  Thomas Jefferson  edit the  Declaration of Independence , he was forced to throw his own son in jail. This broke his heart, but freedom, at this time, was more important than family to him.

Benjamin Franklin: Inventor

During this time he developed a love for science.  He invented many different things , including the scuba diving flippers and the wood stove, but his most important invention was the lightning rod. This is what earned the title “The man who tamed lightning.”

Later Years

After his wife died in 1774 he became the French ambassador. When he went over to France everyone loved him. He was young rich, funny, smart, and flirtatious.

He stayed in France for quite some time before moving back to America. While he was there he was able to sign a treaty with the French and get them to fight on the Americans’ side for the war. He was very useful in that sense.

When the war was over Franklin worked as a printer again for a short while, then he went back into politics.

His last political jab was in 1789 when he published a writing against  slavery . He died in 1790 and had 20,000 people showed up at his funeral.

Biography Online

Benjamin Franklin Biography

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a scientist, ambassador, philosopher, statesmen, writer, businessman and celebrated free thinker and wit. Franklin is often referred to as ‘America’s Renaissance Man’ and he played a pivotal role in forging a united American identity during the American Revolution.

Early life Benjamin Franklin

At an early age, he also started writing articles which were published in the ‘New England Courant’ under a pseudonym; Franklin wrote under pseudonyms throughout his life. After several had been published, he admitted to his father that he had written them. Rather than being pleased, his father beat him for his impudence. Therefore, aged 17, the young Benjamin left the family business and travelled to Philadelphia.

“The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

-— Benjamin Franklin

In Philadelphia, Benjamin’s reputation as an acerbic man of letters grew. His writings were both humorous and satirical, and his capacity to take down powerful men came to the attention of Pennsylvania governor, William Keith. William Keith was fearful of Benjamin’s satire so offered him a job in England with all expenses paid. Benjamin took the offer, but once in England, the governor deserted Franklin, leaving him with no funds.

Benjamin Franklin frequently found himself in awkward situations, but his natural resourcefulness and determination always overcame difficult odds. Benjamin found a job at a printer in London. Here he was known as the “Water American” – as he preferred to drink water rather than the usual six pints of beer daily. Franklin remarked there was ‘more nourishment in a pennyworth of bread than in a quart of beer.’

In 1726, a Quaker Merchant, Mr Denham offered him a position in Philadelphia. Franklin accepted and sailed back to the US.

On his journey home, Benjamin wrote a list of 13 virtues he thought important for his future life. Amongst these were temperance, frugality, sincerity, justice and tranquillity. He originally had 12, but, since a friend remarked he had great pride, he added a 13th – humility (Imitate Jesus and Socrates.)

Virtues of Benjamin Franklin

1. “TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”

2. “SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”

3. “ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”

4. “RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”

5. “FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”

6. “INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”

7. “SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”

8. “JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”

9. “MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”

10. “CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.”

11. “TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”

12. “CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”

13. “HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

Franklin sought to cultivate these virtues throughout the remainder of life. His approach to self-improvement lasted throughout his life.

Back in America, Franklin had many successful endeavours in business, journalism, science and statesmanship.

Scientific Achievements of Benjamin Franklin

Science experiments were a hobby of Franklin. This led to the:

• Franklin stove – a mechanism for distributing heat throughout a room.
• The famous kite and key in the thunderstorm. This proved that lightning and electricity were one and the same thing.
• He was the first person to give electricity positive and negative charges
• The first flexible urinary catheter
• Glass harmonica (also known as the glass armonica)
• Bifocal glasses.

Franklin never patented his inventions, preferring to offer them freely for the benefit of society. As he wrote:

“… 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.”

Benjamin Franklin as Ambassador

Franklin was chosen as an ambassador to England in the dispute over taxes. For five years he held conferences with political leaders as well as continuing his scientific experiments and musical studies.

Later on, Franklin played a key role in warning the British government over the dangers of taxing the American colonies. In a contest of wills, Franklin was instrumental in encouraging the British Parliament to revoke the hated Stamp Act. However, this reversal was to be short-lived. And when further taxes were issued, Franklin declared himself a supporter of the new American independence movement.

In 1775, he returned to an America in conflict. He was one of the five representatives chosen to draw up the American Declaration of Independence with Thomas Jefferson as the author.

Franklin was chosen to be America’s ambassador to France, where he worked hard to gain the support of the French in America’s war effort. During his time in French society, Franklin was widely admired, and his portrait was hung in many houses.

At the age of 75, the newly formed US government beseeched Franklin to be America’s representative in signing a peace treaty with Great Britain which was signed in 1783.

He was finally replaced as French ambassador by Thomas Jefferson, who paid tribute to his enormous capacity Jefferson remarked; “I succeed him; no one can replace him.”

Religious Beliefs of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin believed in God throughout his life. In his early life, he professed a belief in Deism. However, he never gave too much importance to organised religion. He was well known for his religious tolerance, and it was remarked how people from different religions could think of him as one of them. As John Adams noted:

“The Catholics thought him almost a Catholic. The Church of England claimed him as one of them. The Presbyterian’s thought him half a Presbyterian, and the Friends believed him a wet Quaker.”

Franklin embodied the spirit of the enlightenment and spirituality over organised religion.

Franklin was a keen debater, but his style was to avoid confrontation and condemnation. He would prefer to argue topics through the asking of awkward questions, not dissimilar to the Greek philosopher Socrates .

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of  Benjamin Franklin ”, Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net , 5th Feb 2010. Last updated 5 March 2019.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life at Amazon

The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin at Amazon

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• Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin: Biography and 12 Major Accomplishments

by World History Edu · July 3, 2019

Benjamin Franklin Biography and Accomplishments | Commonly called, the “First American”, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was one of America’s most influential Founding Father.

Benjamin Franklin was a prominent Founding Father and a statesman of the United States of America. Over the course of his life, Benjamin pushed himself in areas far and beyond politics. Hence, he ended up becoming one of America’s most renowned inventors, postmasters, printers, civic activists, scientists, authors and diplomats.

He holds the singular honor of having his signature on all  four of America’s most sacred documents – the Declaration of Independence ; the Alliance Treaty with France in 1778; the Treaty of Paris in 1783; and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Below is an in-depth look at the biography, facts and major accomplishments of Benjamin Franklin, America’s greatest statesman and diplomat.

Early Life and his Printing Businesses

On January 17, 1706, Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. He was born into a very large family. He had 9 siblings and 7 half-siblings. The relatively large size of the family meant that the Franklins had to do the best that they could to make ends meet since money was not always easy to come by.

Benjamin Franklin’s father, Josiah Franklin, was an English-born soap and candle maker. This form of artisanship was considered one of the lowest paid and ill-attractive jobs in 18th century America. Although he hated doing so, the young Benjamin had no option than to help out at his father’s soap and candle shop.

His favorite pastime was rather reading.  At the age of 10, Benjamin Franklin began to self-educate himself by extensively reading and writing, a habit that ended up paying huge dividends in Franklin’s future endeavors.

Benjamin’s father wanted him to become a clergyman. However, and owing to financial difficulties, there was very little to go around the family. As a result, Benjamin Franklin could only get two years’ worth of (formal) schooling in his life. He spent some of those two years at the Boston Latin School.

Silence Dogood 

Upon attaining the age of 12, Franklin took up apprenticeship training at his older brother’s (James) printing shop in Boston. Gradually, the young Benjamin expertly built skill sets in writing, printing and editing. Under the pseudonym Silence Dogood , Benjamin Franklin  penned several essays in James’ newspaper- the New-England Courant . Benjamin resorted to such cunning tactics because the older Franklin refused publishing his works in the newspaper.

However, all hell broke lose when James discovered that the middle-aged Mrs Silence Dogood was none other than Benjamin Franklin.  The fallout between the two brothers was massive; and in 1723, Benjamin Franklin left James’ shop in Boston and set his sights on Philadelphia. The reason why he left was because he felt James failed to treat him well.

With the experience he garnered at his brother’s printing business, Benjamin was able to get a job as printer in Philadelphia.  A year later, he was again on the move. This time around, he journeyed across the Atlantic and made his way to London, England. Over there, he worked in Samuel Palmer’s printing shop as a typesetter.

Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1736

The Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard’s almanack

After a couple of years abroad, Benjamin Franklin returned to America and collaborated with Thomas Denhem to setup a successful printing business in 1726. By 1729, he had started publishing extensively in a Pennsylvania newspaper ( The Pennsylvania Gazette ) that had reasonably wide distribution in the state.

The most famous piece of writing published by Franklin in the newspaper has to be “ Poor Richard’s Almanack ”. The publication, which ran from 1732 to 1758, was fondly received by the public because of its message of frugality and diligence. The newspaper went on to sell about  10,000 copies of the Poor Richard’s Almanack for close to 25 years.

His ultimate goal in entering the printing business, aside from financial reasons, was to propagate what we might now call the “American Dream”. He tried to use the print media to construct a very morally upright and industrious society across the American colonies. Politically, his association with the “Pennsylvania Chronicle” enabled him drum up support for the American Revolution.

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There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self.

- By Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin - the Founding Father

Benjamin Franklin was one of those rare people who had a curious mind, many talents and the ambition to accomplish much during his life. As one of the founding fathers of the United States, he had the respect of the most powerful people in the country. As an inventor, he created a number of everyday items that people still rely upon more than two centuries later. As a scientist, his discoveries changed the world. Although he was never elected to a federal office, historians regard him as the president who was never president and the most influential of the founding fathers.

Where Did Benjamin Franklin Grow Up?

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Mass., January 17, 1706, into a Puritan household. He had 16 siblings, but four of them died at birth. He was 15th overall in the birth order, and he was the youngest of five brothers. His mother, Abiah Folger, was his father's second wife. His father was a soap and candle maker who could only afford two years of formal schooling for young Ben.

When the boy was 12, his father apprenticed him to his brother James, who had a printing shop. James taught Benjamin to be a printer by trade. In 1721, James founded The New-England Courant, the very first independent newspaper of the colonial era.

Benjamin wanted to write a letter to the editor of the paper, but James forbid it, so the younger Franklin created the persona "Silence Dogood." He wrote letters to the editor under this name, and they generated considerable buzz around town. However, James eventually discovered Benjamin's trick and put a stop to it.

What Did Benjamin Franklin Accomplish as a Young Adult?

Unhappy with his position in the print shop, Benjamin set out for Philadelphia at the age of 17. Once he arrived, he found work in the printing trade. He was only in the city for a few months before the Governor of Pennsylvania asked him to make a trip to London to pick up some supplies. Finding himself stranded and abandoned by the governor, Franklin worked as a typesetter in a London printing shop before returning to the states in 1726.

A year later, at the age of 21, Franklin formed the Junto, also called the Leather Apron Club. It was a group of like-minded individuals who met every Friday to discuss ethics, current events, philosophy and affairs of business. Members of the Junto were avid readers, and Franklin proposed that they mitigate the expense of buying books by creating a subscription library. Members pooled their funds to purchase books to stock the shelves. Any member could borrow a library book as needed.

In 1731, Franklin wrote a charter establishing the Library Company of Philadelphia. It was the first institution of its kind in the colonies. It still exists today as a mecca for scholars and researchers.

Meanwhile, in 1728, Benjamin Franklin partnered with a Junto colleague, Hugh Meredith, in establishing a printing company. After just a year in business, Franklin began publishing his own newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. The paper included Franklin's essays, which provided commentary on current events and illustrations of moral virtue. Through his writings, he earned the respect of his readers and a reputation as a wise, industrious businessman.

Franklin's other accomplishments during his early adulthood include the creation of a German language newspaper and the establishment of the first chain of newspapers in the colonies. These papers had varying degrees of success.

Love your Enemies, for they tell you your Faults. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Middle Years: What Benjamin Franklin Is Known For

Franklin became a father three times over during the period from 1730 to 1743. The first child, a son, was born out of wedlock. A second son, born to Franklin and his common-law wife, Deborah Read, died of smallpox when he was four. His third child, Sarah Franklin, grew up, married and lived into old age.

In 1733, Benjamin began writing Poor Richard's Almanack, which he continued to publish until 1758. It contains many witty sayings that are still in circulation. He also published the General Magazine and Historical Chronicle. Through these and other publications, Franklin further solidified his good reputation among his readers and peers. True to the Puritan values of his upbringing, he strived to work hard, be honest and help others.

In 1747, Franklin attended a fateful series of lectures by Archibald Spencer on the topic of static electricity. The talks inspired Franklin's decades-long exploration of electricity, including his famous episode of flying a kite in a thunder storm to prove that lighting was charged with electricity. His inventions of the electric ground and the lighting rod resulted from his experimentations.

Franklin extended his influence beyond the publishing trade when he helped establish the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened its doors in 1751. It formed the foundation for the later University of Pennsylvania.

Also, having served as postmaster for the city of Philadelphia during this era of his life, he became the deputy postmaster general for all the colonies in 1753. While in this post, he helped establish a communications network throughout the colonies. He also studied ocean currents as they related to the time it took for mail to arrive from England to specific locations in the colonies. Later, during the Revolutionary War, Benjamin Franklin would take on the title of United States Postmaster General.

Another line of inquiry Franklin pursued was demographics. He began observing population growth in the colonies during the 1730s, and he eventually determined that the colonial population was roughly doubling every 20 years. In 1755, he published his findings and conclusions in "Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind," which historians today consider to be one of the 18th century's most important works on demography.

His wide-ranging inquiries, research and writings made Franklin a well-respected figure in Philadelphia. His many business ventures made him a wealthy man. He also carved inroads into the politics of the city. In 1748, he became a city councilman. Two years later, Franklin assumed the mantle of Justice of the Peace, and in 1751, his supporters voted him into the Philadelphia Assembly. That year, he partnered with John Bond in establishing the nation's first medical facility, Pennsylvania Hospital.

The honorary degrees Franklin collected during the 1750s attest to his sterling reputation as an advocate of education, proponent of science and ethical icon. Among those are honorary Master of Arts degrees from Harvard, Yale and the College of William & Mary. Later, he received honorary doctorates from Scotland's University of St. Andrews and England's Oxford University.

In 1957, Franklin went to London on behalf of the Philadelphia Assembly. He was charged with mounting a protest over the influence of the William Penn family, who had established Pennsylvania and retained control there as well as the right of taxation. He made frequent trips abroad up until 1775, when the revolution was at hand.

Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Later Years and the American Revolution

Benjamin Franklin returned from his latest foray to England in May 1775. As a representative from the Philadelphia Assembly, he attended the Second Continental Congress. The following year, in June 1776, Franklin was chosen as one of the Committee of Five, whose members wrote the Declaration of Independence.

At the age of 70, Franklin had a painful case of gout, and he was not able to attend most of the committee meetings. However, fellow member Thomas Jefferson sent a draft of the Declaration to Franklin, who was incapacitated at home, and the Philadelphian made a few important edits to the document. He was present at the signing of the final draft along with 56 other influential figures of the era.

In December 1776, Benjamin accepted a commission as U.S. ambassador to France where he spent a number of years among Paris intellectuals, fellow freemasons and politicians. In between trips, he managed to become the only founding father to put his signature on four documents essential to the establishment of his own country: the Declaration of Independence, the U. S. Constitution, the Paris Treaty, and the Treaty of Alliance between the U.S. and France.

In 1785, at the age of 79, Pennsylvania voters elected Franklin President of the Supreme Executive Council of the state, an office which was similar to that of governor today. As such, he hosted the 1787 Constitutional Convention, which took place in Philadelphia.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Quote by Benjamin Franklin

Why Benjamin Franklin Is Important

The founding father, statesman, printer, inventor, scientist, philosopher, husband and father died in 1790 of a respiratory disease. He was 84 years old. With a legacy that includes the establishment of a new nation, universities, the postal system and public libraries, Benjamin Franklin's influence on history is enormous. His likeness graces U.S. coin, currency and bonds, and his inquisitive spirit still stands as an example to scholars, scientists and politicians in the modern era.

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11 Surprising Facts About Benjamin Franklin

By: Evan Andrews

Updated: July 18, 2023 | Original: January 15, 2016

1. He only had two years of formal education.

The man considered the most brilliant American of his age rarely saw the inside of a classroom. Franklin spent just two years attending Boston Latin School and a private academy before joining the family candle and soap-making business. 

By age 12, he was serving as an indentured apprentice at a printing shop owned by his brother, James. Young Benjamin made up for his lack of schooling by spending what little money he earned on books, often going without food to afford new volumes. He also honed his composition skills by reading essays and articles and then rewriting them from memory. 

Despite being almost entirely self-taught, Franklin later helped found the school that became the University of Pennsylvania and received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the College of William and Mary, the University of St. Andrews and Oxford.

2. Franklin became a hit writer as a teenager.

After his brother James founded a weekly newspaper called the New England Courant in the 1720s, a 16-year-old Franklin began secretly submitting essays and commentary as “Silence Dogood,” a fictitious widow who offered homespun musings on everything from fashion and marriage to women’s rights and religion.

The letters were hugely popular, and Mrs. Dogood soon received several marriage proposals from eligible bachelors in Boston. Franklin penned 14 Dogood essays before unmasking himself as their author, much to his jealous brother’s chagrin. Sick of the toil and beatings he endured as James’ apprentice, the teenaged sensation then fled Boston the following year and settled in Philadelphia, the city that would remain his adopted hometown for the rest of his life.

3. He spent half his life in unofficial retirement.

Franklin arrived in Philadelphia in 1723 practically penniless, but over the next two decades he became enormously wealthy as a print shop owner, land speculator and publisher of the popular “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” 

By 1748, the 42-year-old was rich enough to hang up his printer’s apron and become a “gentleman of leisure.” Franklin’s retirement allowed him to spend his remaining 42 years studying science and devising inventions such as the lightning rod, bifocal glasses and a more efficient heating stove. It also gave him the freedom to devote himself to public service. 

Despite never running for elected office, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention , diplomat and ambassador to France and Sweden, the first postmaster general and the president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania.

4. Franklin designed a musical instrument used by Mozart and Beethoven.

Among Franklin’s more unusual inventions is his “glass armonica,” an instrument designed to replicate the otherworldly sound that a wet finger makes when rubbed along the rim of a glass. He made his first prototype in 1761 by having a London glassmaker build him 37 glass orbs of different sizes and pitches, which he then mounted on a spindle controlled by a foot pedal.

To play the instrument, the user would simply wet their fingers, rotate the apparatus and then touch the glass pieces to create individual tones or melodies. The armonica would go on to amass a considerable following during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Thousands were manufactured, and the likes of Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss all composed music for it. 

Franklin would later write that “Of all my inventions, the glass armonica has given me the greatest personal satisfaction.”

5. He was a reluctant revolutionary.

Franklin was among the last of the Founding Fathers to come out in favor of full separation from Britain. Having lived in London for several years and held royal appointments, he instead pushed for peaceful compromise and the preservation of the empire, once writing that, “every encroachment on rights is not worth a rebellion.” 

When the Boston Tea Party took place in 1773, he dubbed it an “act of violent injustice on our part” and insisted that the East India Company should be compensated for its losses. Franklin had soured on the monarchy by the time he returned to the United States for the Second Continental Congress in 1775, but his past support for King George III earned him the suspicion of many of his fellow patriots. Before he publicly announced his support for American independence, a few even suspected he might be a British spy.

6. Franklin created a phonetic alphabet.

While living in London in 1768, Franklin embarked on a project “to give the alphabet a more natural order.” Annoyed by the many inconsistencies in English spelling, he devised his own phonetic system that ditched the redundant consonants C, J, Q, W, X and Y and added six new letters, each designed to represent its own specific vocal sound. 

Franklin unveiled his “Scheme for a new Alphabet and a Reformed Mode of Spelling” in an essay published in 1779, but later scrapped the project after it failed to arouse public interest.

7. His son was a British loyalist.

Along with the two children he had with his wife, Deborah Read, Franklin also fathered an illegitimate son named William around 1730. The two were once close friends and partners—William helped Franklin with his famous kite experiment—but they later had a major falling out over the American Revolution . While Franklin joined in calling for independence from the mother country, William remained a staunch Tory who branded the patriots “intemperate zealots” and refused to resign his post as the royal governor of New Jersey. 

He spent two years in a colonial prison for opposing the revolution and later became a leader in a loyalist group before moving to England at the end of the war. The elder Franklin never forgave his son for “taking up arms against me.” He all but cut William out of his will, arguing, “the part he acted against me in the late war…will account for my leaving him no more of an estate he endeavored to deprive me of.”

8. Franklin was a fashion icon in France.

In 1776, the Continental Congress sent Franklin to France to seek military aid for the revolution. The 70-year-old was already world-renowned for his lighting experiments—the French even called their electrical experimenters “Franklinistes”—but his fame soared to new heights after his arrival in Paris.

Franklin capitalized on the French conception of Americans as rustic frontiersmen by dressing plainly and wearing a fur hat, which soon became his trademark and appeared in countless French portraits and medallions. Women even took to imitating the cap with oversized wigs in a style called “coiffure a la Franklin.” 

When Franklin later traded the fur cap for a white hat during the signing of the 1778 treaty between France and the United States, white-colored headgear instantly became a fashion trend among the men of Paris.

9. He spent his later years as an abolitionist.

Franklin owned at least two slaves during his life, both of whom worked as household servants, but in his old age, he came to view slavery as a vile institution that ran counter to the principles of the American Revolution.

He took over as president of a Pennsylvania abolitionist society in 1787, and in 1790 he presented a petition to Congress urging it to grant liberty “to those unhappy men who alone in this land of freedom are degraded into perpetual bondage.” 

While the petition was ignored, Franklin kept up the fight until his death a few months later and even included a provision in his will that required his daughter and son-in-law to free their slave to get their inheritance.

10. Franklin left Boston and Philadelphia an unusual gift in his will.

When he died in April 1790, Franklin willed 2,000 pounds sterling to his birthplace of Boston and his adopted home of Philadelphia . The largesse came with an unusual caveat: for its first 100 years, the money was to be placed in a trust and only used to provide loans to local tradesmen. A portion could then be spent, but the rest would remain off-limits for another 100 years, at which point the cities could use it as they saw fit. Boston and 

Philadelphia followed Franklin’s wishes, and by 1990 their funds were worth $4.5 million and $2 million, respectively. The two towns have since used the windfall to help finance the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. Philadelphia also put some of its funds toward scholarships for students attending trade schools.

11. He’s a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Franklin had a lifelong love of swimming that began during his childhood in Boston. One of his first inventions was a pair of wooden hand paddles that he used to propel himself through the Charles River, and he wrote of once using a kite to skim across a pond. 

While living in England in the 1760s, he displayed such an impressive array of swimming strokes during a dip in Thames that a friend offered to help him open his own swimming school. Franklin declined the offer, but he remained a proponent of swimming instruction for the rest of his life, once writing, “every parent would be glad to have their children skilled in swimming.” His aquatic exploits have since earned him an honorary induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

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Benjamin Franklin

• Occupation: Statesman and Inventor
• Born: January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts
• Died: April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Best known for: Founding father of the United States

• Ben was his dad's 15th child of 17 total children!
• Ben Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the United States.
• Later in life, Ben set his slaves free and became a fighter for the freedom of slaves.
• He didn't patent any of his many inventions, letting people use his ideas for free.
• Franklin became fairly wealthy from the publishing of Poor Richard's Almanack .
• He loved playing chess and was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.
• As a teenager, Franklin had several letters published in his brother's newspaper under the fake name "Silence Dogood." His brother was not happy when he found out.
• During his life, Franklin's views on slavery changed dramatically. In 1748, he purchased his first slave, but by 1760 he had freed all of his slaves. He became a staunch abolitionist and spent much of his later life campaigning for an end to slavery.
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

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Benjamin Franklin Biography, Age, Early Life, Personal Life, Books, Career, And More

Benjamin Franklin is a popular American leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and politician. 

He was born on 17 January 1706, in Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He died at the age of 84 on 17 April 1790 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

During his lifetime he got married to Deborah Read between 1730 to 1774.

William Franklin, Sarah Franklin Bache, and Francis Folger Franklin are Benjamin Franklin’s children. 

Franklin founded several organizations including University of Pennsylvania, American Philosophical Society, and others.

William Temple Franklin, Benjamin Franklin Bache, and Louis Franklin Bache are Benjamin Franklin’s grandchild. Likewise, Mary Morrell Folger, Jane White Franklin, Peter Folger, and Thomas Franklin are Benjamin Franklin’s grandparents. 

Table of Contents

Full Name: Benjamin Franklin 

Nickname: Ben Franklin

Pseudonym: Richard Saunders

Date of Birth: January 17 [January 6, Old Style], 1706, Boston, Massachusetts [U.S.]

Died: April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. (aged 84)

Title / Office: Continental Congress (1775-1775), United States

Founder: American Philosophical Society

Awards And Honors: Hall of Fame (1900) Copley Medal (1753)

Benjamin Franklin Biography And Early Life 

According to the available information, Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, now known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

His father was an English-born soap and candlemaker Josiah Franklin that had seven children with first wife, Anne Child, also 10 more with second wife, Abiah Folger. Franklin was his 15th child and youngest son.

Benjamin learned to read at every young age and despite his success at the Boston Latin School, he stopped his schooling at 10 to work in his cash-strapped father’s candle and soap shop.

He was dipping wax and cutting wicks didn’t fire the young boy’s imagination.

Josiah apprenticed 12-year-old Franklin at the print shop run by his older brother James.

Although James mistreated and beat Benjamin, he learned a great deal about newspaper publishing and used a similar brand of subversive politics under the printer’s tutelage.

Personal Life

In 1723, after Franklin relocated from Boston to Philadelphia, he was accommodated in the house of John Read, where he met his landlord’s daughter Deborah.

When he returned to Philadelphia in 1726, he discovered that Deborah had married in the interim, just to be abandoned by her husband a few months after their wedding.

Benjamin rekindled his romance with Deborah Read so he took her as his common-law wife in 1730. At this moment, Franklin and Read have a son, William, out of wedlock.

Their first son, Francis, was born in 1732, unfortunate he died four years later of smallpox. Both Benjamin Franklin and his wife have one daughter, Sarah, who was born in 1743.

Franklin relocated to London twice, in 1757 and 1764, it was without Deborah, because she refused to leave Philadelphia. During his second stay was the last time Benjamin Franklin and Read saw each other.

Franklin didn’t return home before Deborah died in 1774 at the age of 66.

Franklin’s son William took office as New Jersey’s royal governor in 1762, the position his father arranged through his connections in the British government. 

Franklin’s support for the patriot cause put him at odds with his son. When the New Jersey militia stripped William Franklin of his post as royal governor and imprisoned him in 1776, his father didn’t intercede on his behalf.

Benjamin Franklin is a great inventor and scientist, he was responsible for the following inventions. 

• Rocking chair
• Flexible catheter
• American penny
• Franklin stove

These are some of the popular books written by Benjamin Franklin 

• The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 1
• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
• A Little Revenge: Benjamin Franklin and His Son
• The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
• Benjamin Franklin in London
• Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity
• Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Living in London

Franklin was encouraged by the then Pennsylvania Governor William Keith to establish his print shop,  so he went to London in 1724 to purchase supplies from stationers, booksellers and printers.

When he arrived in England,, he felt duped when Keith’s letters of introduction never arrived as promised.

He was forced to find work at London’s print shops, but took complete advantage of the city’s pleasures by attending theater performances, even mingling with the locals in coffee houses and having the opportunity to read.

Benjamin Franklin created his personal  wooden flippers, and taught himself how to swim. He performed long-distance swims on the Thames River. Franklin  was inducted as an honorary member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968. 

In 1725 Franklin published his first pamphlet, “ A Dissertation upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain ,” in the book he argued that humans lack free will and, so, are not morally responsible for their actions.

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September 17, 2020 by James Wilson

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Benjamin Franklin did many notable things. He discovered electricity. He opened the first library. He was a founding father. He invented the bifocals. He has so many acheivements. He did lots of great work. But, his personality and history is often overlooked by the big events of his life. Along with being a founding father, he was a writer and journalist. He was a scientist. And he was a husband and father.

What are the Best Benjamin Franklin Books to read?

These books detail Benjamin Franklin’s life and history. He did a great job of helping discover America and declare its freedom. He was an honorable man with acheivements and flaws. It’s important to see all sides to a story, even the stories of the greatest people in history. The books below will help readers understand Benjamin Franklin, what he did for history, and what he did for the present and future.

Best Books on Benjamin Franklin: Our Top 20 Picks

Here are some of the best Benjamin Franklin books that you can consider to expand your knowledge on the subject:

1. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin is another version of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. This autobiography recounts Benjamin Franklin’s life from 1771 to 1790. Franklin was independent, had good intentions, and did lots of important work. In this book, Benjamin Franklin explains his reasoning for every decision he made. He explains the obstacles he had to overcome, and the most notable events in his life. This book was not published until after Benjamin Franklin’s death.

This book is considered an autobiography, but he described it as a memoir. Benjamin Franklin had so many talents. He discusses these talents in his book, and goes more into detail on what went into his accomplishments. This is a great read, particularly for educators that are teaching students about Benjamin Franklin. This would be a great assigned read that is not too difficult to follow.

• Authors : Benjamin Franklin (Author)
• Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 1, 2019)
• Pages : 116 pages

2. Franklin’s Autobiography

Benjamin Franklin has a lengthy history full of many achievements. Instead of reading an interpretation of his history, why not hear what he has to say. Franklin’s Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin covers Benjamin Franklin’s history and how he recounts it. It is told in the present. He knows of his accomplishments, but he doesn’t know how far they’ll go.

The book has a long, rigorous introduction. The meat and the bones of the book, which would be Benjamin Franklin’s notes and information, is what ties this book together. He was very intelligent, which can be seen in this book.

This book is a very great autobiography. The differing language between generations can be hard to read, but the book is great overall, and perfect for those who want to know more about Benjamin Franklin from an unbiased source.

• Pages : 268 pages

3. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Benjamin Franklin is most well-known for being one of the founding fathers. He contributed a lot of notable work to the world that is often overlooked by his name. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson recounts all of Benjamin Franklin’s history. While this book does a great job of sharing Benjamin Franklin’s trials and tribulations, it doesn’t actually detail his vulnerability.

This book shows more of Benjamin Franklin’s confidence, which makes him unrelatable. He was not born into privilege, so he needed to work his way up. This book was great, but it would be alot better if it discussed the hardships Benjamin Franklin had to endure instead of his founding fathers. This is a pretty good biography, but there is more to Benjamin Franklin than it touches on.

• Authors : Walter Isaacson (Author)
• Publisher : Simon & Schuster; 1st Edition (July 1, 2003)
• Pages : 624 pages

4. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin covers every little detail of Benjamin Franklin’s life. The politics in this book are actually readable and enjoyable. This book is well-organized. It captures all of the good and the bad in Benjamin Franklin’s life. Benjamin Franklin was many things: he was a penniless runaway, a triumphant printer, and was an all around pivotal character in colonial history. He did a lot of great work, and he worked hard to do so.

This book is full of interesting, and has plenty of detail. That being said, it can be a long, dull read at times. It goes on for awhile. This book, at times, has too much detail. It could be condensed so as to not lose the attention of the readers.

• Authors : H. W. Brands (Author)
• Publisher : Anchor; Reprint Edition (May 14, 2010)
• Pages : 786 pages

5. The Way to Wealth

The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin is an incredible introduction to personal finance by a notable man in history. This book is wise, and thoughtful. Even though it was written over 200 years ago, many of Franklin’s tips and advice can be used today. He wants people to achieve success by staying true to themselves. His book helps people get rich in a way that keeps their integrity intact.

This book helps readers with their money, savings, and insight into the world of finance. This book is a quick read. It is simple to get through, and it is not boring either. Benjamin Franklin continues to help people long past his death. He has notable insight to many things, money only being one of them. This book helps readers better manage their money just like Benjamin Franklin did.

• Publisher : Applewood Books (September 1, 1986)
• Pages : 30 pages

6. The Way to Wealth: Ben Franklin on Money and Success

Benjamin Franklin has an opinion on everything, and money does not fall short of that. The Way to Wealth: Ben Franklin on Money and Success by Benjamin Franklin includes some of Benjamin Franklin’s essays related to money. This book has advice for obtaining success and money. This is a pocket-sized book that has plenty of information that can be read quickly. It has great advice that applies to many situations. Readers can carry this book with them everywhere they go.

The book ends with rules on 13 ways to be a good person. Benjamin Franklin uses this book to focus on character development. He teaches readers how to succeed without using their integrity and heart. This book has amazing advice from one of the oldest and most successful voices of the past. This is a simple read for readers of every level.

• Authors : Benjamin Franklin (Author), Charles Conrad (Author), Best Success Books (Author)
• Publisher : www.SuccessBooks.net (May 16, 2014)
• Pages : 21 pages

7. Who Was Ben Franklin?

Benjamin Franklin was so many things. He was a scientist, a founding father, an inventor, a statesman, and so much more. He was an inspiration to many people, and still is today. Who Was Ben Franklin? By Dennis Brindell Fradin is a great kid’s book detailing the history of Benjamin Franklin. The pictures in this book are cute, fun, and colorful. The drawings excite kids and make them eager to learn more about Benjamin Franklin.

This book is a short easy read. Older kids can read it on their own easily. This book is funny, interesting, and thrilling. This is a great gateway to the history of Benjamin Franklin. This is a perfect for kids who need to do a research paper on a historical figure, especially a figure as notable as Benjamin Franklin.

• Authors : Dennis Brindell Fradin (Author), Who HQ (Author), John O’Brien (Illustrator)
• Publisher : Penguin Workshop; Illustrated Edition (February 18, 2002)
• Pages : 112 pages

8. Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard: A Novel

Benjamin Franklin had a son: William Franklin. Even though he had a son, they did not have the most-loving relationship. Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard: A Novel by Sally Cabot recalls the history of William Franklin, and how it affected Benjamin Franklin’s life. Benjamin Franklin’s family life was very complicated, and his son’s existence only added to that.

This book discusses William Franklin and how he came to have two loving moms. William Franklin was the son of Benjamin Franklin and his mistress, Anne. However, Benjamin Franklin’s wife, Deborah, raised him as her own.

This book is full of drama, war, and love. This book is historical fiction, so don’t believe everything that is said. But it is based on truth. This book is a page turner that keeps readers engaged and interested in Benjamin Franklin and William Franklin.

• Authors : Sally Cabot (Author)
• Publisher : William Morrow; Reprint Edition (May 7, 2013)
• Pages : 373 pages

9. Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School

Benjamin Franklin was many things. He first and foremost, a founding father. He had great success in his life, but he was also very funny. Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School by Benjamin Franklin is a collection of more of Benjamin Franklin’s more humorous essays. This book has many topics: sacred cows, attacks on marriage, hoaxes, and the english parliament.

This book is more entertaining than it is historical. It gives readers an insight into the wit of Benjamin Franklin, and how well-rounded he was. These essays are humorous, but they also criticize politics and more-pressing issues in a light-hearted way. Benjamin Franklin’s humor is dry. He uses many puns. Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, a statesman, and much more, but he was also the King of Satire. This book proves just that.

• Authors : Benjamin Franklin (Author), Carl Japikse (Editor)
• Publisher : Frog Books; Revised ed. Edition (May 1, 2003)
• Pages : 128 pages

10. Benjamin Franklin’s Book of Virtues

Benjamin Franklin truly has a virtuous history. Being virtuous, means one has virtues. Benjamin Franklin’s Book of Virtues by Benjamin Franklin includes 13 of his most important virtues. This is a great book for parents to read to their children. It is simple and straight-forward. The language is easy to read, and is less about Benjamin Franklin’s history, and more about his values.

This book is motivational and inspiring. This book gives insight into what drove Benjamin Franklin to succeed. This book gives readers the opportunity to get to know the real Benjamin Franklin. He was humorous, kind, and hard-working. This book really delves deep into who he was, without focusing on all he did. Benjamin Franklin was an amazing man. This book really shows the virtues that made him who he was.

• Publisher : Applewood Books (September 27, 2016)
• Pages : 32 pages

11. The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin

The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S. Wood chronicilizes Benjamin Franklin’s life and how it revolutionized America. This book tells a more complex narrative of Benjamin Franklin. His life was more ambiguous than people may assume.

This book is a little simple, but it’s also convoluted. Benjamin Franklin had allegiance to the United States as well as England. His history as an American is noteworthy and amazing, but it is not flawless.

This book gives a look into the life of Benjamin Franklin, and how he was not the perfect human being. It explains how his mistakes made him the person he was. He had great achievements in life, and he leaves a notable history of achievements after death. This is an unbiased book that truly explores who Benjamin Franklin was, and what he did for America.

• Authors : Gordon S. Wood (Author)
• Publisher : Penguin Books; Reprint Edition (May 31, 2005)
• Pages : 354 pages

12. Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an inventor. He discovered many things, but the most well-known being electricity. Now and Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta is lists many of Benjamin Franklin’s other inventions. Franklin set up many inventions and even had a hand in setting up libraries, fire departments, and hospitals. This book recounts some of the inventions Benjamin Franklin made, how he did it, and the impact it had on the world.

This book has beautiful illustrations that are fun, and light-hearted. This is definitely a perfect book for teaching children about Benjamin Franklin and the work he did.  The book is also great for adults. It’s an easy read, and focuses on some of the great work Benjamin Franklin did that is not often mentioned in other history books.

• Authors : Gene Barretta (Author, Illustrator)
• Publisher : Square Fish; First Edition (December 23, 2008)
• Pages : 40 pages

13. Benjamin Franklin Wit and Wisdom

Benjamin Franklin Wit and Wisdom by Benjamin Franklin is a pocketbook that can be taken anywhere. It is small, compact, and condensed. It has a lot of information on a few pages. The book has accompanying illustrations that match the history, and make it more interesting. This book has incredible quotes and sayings from Benjamin Franklin.

This book makes for a great conversation starter. This book has fun facts on Benjamin Franklin, but nothing too meaty. It doesn’t go too into depth because it’s not big enough to do so. This is a great introductory book for people who are looking to know more about Benjamin Franklin, but haven’t learned about him before. This is a great book for students to use as a refresher on Benjamin Franklin and his incredible life.

• Publisher : Peter Pauper Press; Min Edition (April 1, 1998)
• Pages : 64 pages

14. The Autobiography and Other Writings

The Autobiography and Other Writings by Benjamin Franklin is Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography and so much more. This compilation includes passages from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, some of the essays he wrote, and a deeper look into Benjamin Franklin’s history. The book is fascinating, but it can be a bit tedious.

Benjamin Franklin was a civilian who worked hard to make life better for the citizens of the world, and more specifically America. The autobiography passages are interesting, but what really makes this book stand out are the essays.

This book introduces Benjamin Franklin from different perspectives. It shows his personality, his humor, and his overwhelming success. This book is a great read for students, teachers, and anyone else who wants and needs to know about Benjamin Franklin.

• Authors : Benjamin Franklin (Author), L. Jesse Lemisch (Editor), Walter Isaacson (Introduction)
• Publisher : Signet; Reprint Edition (August 5, 2014)
• Pages : 352 pages

15. The Completed Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin

Many have complained that Benjamin Franklin did not complete his autobiography. With The Completed Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin by Mark Skousen, we don’t have to. This book celebrates the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s birth. This book recounts the work Franklin did after 1957, so everything he did until his death in 1790. He did lots of notable work as a scientist, printer, writer, lobbyist, inventor, and more. He was self-made. He started as penniless nobody, and worked his way up to becoming a founding father of the United States of America. He made history–history that this book covers.

At times, this book can feel lengthy and redundant. Overall, though, it has incredible information that is often left out of other books. Skousen did his research. This book covers every aspect of Benjamin Franklin’s life.

• Authors : Mark Skousen (Author), Benjamin Franklin (Author)
• Publisher : Regnery History (November 21, 2005)
• Pages : 256 pages

16. Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity

Benjamin Franklin’s early life is when he had to work his hardest. He had no money, no name for himself, and a long way to go. Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity by Nick Bunker focuses on Benjamin Franklin’s youth. Everything in this book happened before Benjamin Franklin was 41.

This book focuses on his lesser known accomplishments. This book recalls the history of Benjamin Franklin and the small accomplishments that led him to make the big ones. This good has a good in depth history of Benjamin Franklin, but at times it can be judgemental.

The author inserts his opinion often, and sometimes in places where it doesn’t need to be. But this book does really capture the young years of Benjamin Franklin, and how they shaped him for bigger, more profound change.

• Authors : Nick Bunker (Author)
• Publisher : Knopf; 1st Edition (September 18, 2018)
• Pages : 464 pages

17. Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan is a short, yet interesting biography of Benjamin Franklin. The book is concise and easy to read. Morgan does an incredible job of viewing Benjamin Franklin’s life from all perspectives. This is an important introduction to the life of Benjamin Franklin. It is not too long, so it does not become redundant halfway through like many other historical books do.

This book has more intel on how Benjamin differed from the other founding fathers: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington. This book recaps all of Benjamin Franklin’s life, from beginning to end. He worked really hard for his success. This book shows his determination and resilience as a man and as a founding father. This is a good book for people with all levels of knowledge on Benjamin Franklin.

• Authors : Edmund S. Morgan (Author)
• Publisher : Yale University Press; Illustrated Edition (September 24, 2003)

18. Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father

There is so much information and history on Benjamin Franklin’s life and accomplishments, but there is little known about his religion. Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father by Thomas S. Kidd takes a look into Benjamin Franklin’s history.

This book discusses the accomplishments Benjamin Franklin had as a scientist, printer, and a diplomat. But most of all, this book delves into his religious beliefs that Benjamin Franklin had. He abandoned his Christianity that his family so deeply believed in. He published many works on many religious topics. Like the rest of Benjamin Franklin’s work, he did his research. He learned about many religions, and what drove others to believe in them.

This book debunks the myth that Benjamin Franklin was not a religious person. Benjamin Franklin had a lot more depth in perspective than many thought he did, and this book explains that.

• Authors : Thomas S. Kidd (Author)
• Publisher : Yale University Press; Illustrated Edition (May 23, 2017)
• Pages : 288 pages

19. A Benjamin Franklin Reader

A Benjamin Franklin Reader by Walter Issaacson is full of selected pieces from Benjamin Franklin’s history. Benjamin Franklin was an amazing writer. He published works in newspapers, books, and more. He has no shortage of excellent pieces on a variety of topics. He was witty, funny, and smart.

This book includes those pieces, as well as an introduction and preface to each of them. The book provides context and background to each story. This book helps readers grasp an idea of who Benjamin Franklin was behind all of his prominent titles. He was kind and thoughtful. He was intelligent. He was witty. He was a kind man, whose personality was often overshadowed by his achievements. This book is long, but it isn’t dull. It is interesting, and keeps readers captivated and enlightened by Benjamin Franklin’s history.

• Publisher : Simon & Schuster; Annotated – Illustrated Edition (June 2, 2005)
• Pages : 576 pages

20. Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist

Benjamin Franklin wasn’t only a founding father, he was an actual father. Benjamin and William Franklin: Father and Son, Patriot and Loyalist by Sheila L. Skemp is a wonderful book about the relationship between father and son. So many history books focus on Benjamin Franklin’s fiscal accomplishments and not his familial conflict. The two were divided due to political conflicts. They were divided. Their love turned to hate. Skemp does a good job of explaining how the two reached a terrible divide.

The book, at some points, can be dull and boring. However, this book brings a fresh perspective on an aspect of Benjamin Franklin’s life that lacked the success and honor some many other parts did. The book has speeches and letters, and lots of amazing history.

• Authors : Sheila L. Skemp (Author)
• Publisher : Bedford/St. Martin’s; 1st Edition (March 15, 1994)
• Pages : 205 pages

Choosing the Best Benjamin Franklin Books

These books have lots of thoughtful information on Benjamin Franklin. They capture his life and history, as well as his personality and wit. He did a lot of great things, but he also had his faults. Choosing the right book to study Benjamin Franklin and his life can be difficult, but it is necessary based on what readers need to know. These are 20 of the best books of Benjamin Franklin, but there are plenty more that be can found.

FREE Great Book Recommendations

Michael Douglas bets a benjamin on 'Franklin' TV series: How actor turned Founding Father

LOS ANGELES – Even Michael Douglas had doubts about portraying Benjamin Franklin in the Oscar-winning actor's first period drama.

Douglas, 79, who famously proclaimed "Greed is Good" in his iconic 1987 "Wall Street" role, just had to glance at Franklin's ubiquitous portrait on the $100 bill to see there wasn't much resemblance to the Founding Father.

"There was a lot of hesitancy from top to bottom. I'd take a look at a $100 bill and I was like, 'Hmm, I don't know,'" Douglas says of the role.

So he leaned into Michael Douglas – from the hair to the laugh and the signature gravelly voice – to play the 18th-century giant, who lived from 1706-1790. "As well as people have known me over so many years, that persona was needed to lead this story through," says Douglas.

Here's how Douglas pulled off "Franklin" (streaming Fridays on AppleTV+), based on Stacy Schiff’s 2005 historical novel “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, And The Birth of America."

Michael Douglas on playing Ben Franklin ‘I wanted to see how I looked in tights’

Why is Benjamin Franklin in France during 'Franklin'?

The 18th-century intellectual giant, most recently the subject of a 2022 Ken Burns documentary , is famous for helping Thomas Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence, his lightning storm experiments on electricity and as the publisher whose wise sayings were chronicled in his annual Poor Richard's Almanack.

Yet Douglas was surprised to learn the critical role Franklin, who was 70 in 1776, played in secretly courting crucial French assistance for the floundering American Revolution against the two countries' mutual rival, England.

"I thought back to my high school history classes, and this crucial chapter of Franklin going to France wasn't even spoken of," says Douglas, who believes the series highlights the still-fragile state of American democracy. "We were in trouble in America and Franklin was the last hope. He improvised and because he was so smart, pulled it off."

Franklin, with his teenage grandson Temple (Noah Jupe), navigates British spies and the French court in the series shot throughout France, including at the famed Palace of Versailles.

Douglas brought the real long hair, bad French

Douglas has shown his transformational powers with his Emmy-winning performance as Liberace in 2013's HBO project "Behind the Candelabra."

But the actor decided to forgo the arduous daily makeup and prosthetics to become Franklin, which would have added physical changes such as the bald forehead, as well as heavier neck and body seen in portraits.

"It would have been 2 1/2 hours of makeup and then 40 minutes to take it off. That's a big part of your shooting day sitting in the chair," says Douglas. "When you're talking 160 shooting days, it made me nervous."

Douglas earned Franklin's likeness naturally by growing out his hair. The wilder look led to tabloid headlines but went down just fine with his wife of 23 years, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.

"Catherine loves me any way she can get me," says Douglas. "And I had long hair in the '60s when I was a hippie. So it saved me from wearing a wig."

He donned the period outfit, embracing the tights , the custom-made shoes, the famed Franklin spectacles, and the marten fur hat that was the talk of France at the time. Voila! Ben Franklin by way of Michael Douglas.

"Within minutes of the series you're all in with him," insists director Tim Van Patten.

Same deal with Franklin's accent, which does not deviate much from the famous actor's distinctive voice. Even Douglas' poor French worked since written history shows Franklin also struggled with the language.

"I speak a little bit of French and thought I was pretty good until I saw the series," says Douglas. "I realized I was as bad as every American tourist in France."

Douglas insisted on the Franklin proud farting scenes

There are moments of joyous Founding Father flatulence in "Franklin."

"I have to take responsibility for that. I just thought he should fart a couple of times," says Douglas. "I mean he's in his 70s, he's not well, and passing wind can be funny."

It's also historically accurate and relevant since Franklin trumpeted the joys of tooting in France. In the 1781 satirical essay "Fart Proudly," Franklin proclaimed the joys of "discharging freely the wind from (the) Bowels" seven times a day.

"I read the fart essay and thought it was fabulous," says Douglas, who pushed to have it included. "At first they were like, 'Nah!' But I said, read this, it's one of the joys of life."

Franklin invented the glass armonica, Douglas never mastered it

Douglas was also impressed to learn that Franklin invented an instrument that makes music through water-filled glass bottles, the glass armonica.

"He had all the tricks, bells and whistles to make himself a universal man," says Douglas. The actor plays the instrument in "Franklin," but never mastered it. "I was able to get sounds out of it, but let's just say that scene was recorded," says Douglas.

Douglas eventually got used to seeing himself as Franklin, especially during a scene where the French celebrity is feted at a gallery filled with paintings and statutes of his likeness. "I laughed my ass off when I walked into that room filled with portraits," says Douglas. "I had to keep at least one of them. So I took one of the more over-the-top paintings."

He confesses the framed Douglas-Franklin watercolor is not yet in the New York home he shares with Zeta-Jones.

"It's in storage," says Douglas. "We haven't quite found the proper place to hang it up."