Benjamin franklin born

A Quick Biography of
Benjamin Franklin



Francis Folger Franklin, Ben's son.
(Posthumous painting. Artist and date unknown)

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth son of soap maker, Josiah Franklin. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, the second wife of Josiah. In all, Josiah would father 17 children.

Josiah intended for Benjamin to enter into the clergy. However, Josiah could only afford to send his son to school for one year and clergymen needed years of schooling. But, as young Benjamin loved to read he had him apprenticed to his brother James, who was a printer. After helping James compose pamphlets and set type which was grueling work, 12-year-old Benjamin would sell their products in the streets.

Apprentice Printer

When Benjamin was 15 his brother started The New England Courant the first "newspaper" in Boston. Though there were two papers in the city before James's Courant, they only reprinted news from abroad. James's paper carried articles, opinion pieces written by James's friends, advertisements, and news of ship schedu

Benjamin Franklin

American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)

"Ben Franklin" redirects here. For other uses, see Benjamin Franklin (disambiguation).

Benjamin Franklin

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Portrait by Joseph Duplessis, 1785

In office
October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788
Vice President
Preceded byJohn Dickinson
Succeeded byThomas Mifflin
In office
September 28, 1782 – April 3, 1783
Appointed byCongress of the Confederation
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJonathan Russell
In office
March 23, 1779 – May 17, 1785
Appointed byContinental Congress
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byThomas Jefferson
In office
July 26, 1775 – November 7, 1776
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byRichard Bache
In office
May 1775 – October 1776
In office
August 10, 1753 – January 31, 1774
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byVacant
In office
May 1764 – October 1764
Preceded byIsaac N

About Benjamin Franklin

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.

Benjamin Franklin was born in January of 1706 to a modest family in Boston, Massachusetts. Although he is most often celebrated as a Founding Father of the United States, Franklin’s accomplishments are diverse, including civic, scientific, and cultural projects which altered the course of American history.  

With a limited formal education, Franklin was effectively self-taught, and spent a significant portion of his early years in the newspaper business. He began by writing for his brother’s newspaper under the assumed name Silence Dogood. When he tired of reporting to his brother, he left Boston, visiting London in between his stays in Philadelphia. There, he started his own printing shop before gaining ownership of the Pennsylvania Gazette.

As Franklin grew older, he developed into a community leader. He played an instrumental role in the establishment of notable Philadelphia institutions, including a library and the school that would later become the University of Pennsylvania. Upon re

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