Francis Folger Franklin, Ben's son.
(Posthumous painting. Artist and date unknown)
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 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 ung 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, 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 a
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About Benjamin Franklin
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
Benjamin Franklin was born in January of 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, includi