---
title: Happy Birthday, Benjamin Franklin!
description: Today would be the 306th birthday of Benjamin Franklin, whose contributions stretched far beyond his role as Founding Father. The polymath inventor w
image: https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/hs-fs/file-21855136-jpg/images/franklinwithkey.jpg
---

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## [Happy Birthday, Benjamin Franklin!](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/230167/Happy-Birthday-Benjamin-Franklin)

By [Kristin Masters](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/author/kristin-masters).  Jan 17, 2012. 2:05 AM.

Topics: [American History](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/topic/american-history), [Book Collecting](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/topic/book-collecting), [Biographies](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/topic/biographies), [Science](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/topic/science)

Today would be the 306th birthday of [Benjamin Franklin](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&pageName=Search&category_id=0&authorField=&titleField=&orderBy=relevance&keywordsField=benjamin+franklin&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit), whose contributions stretched far beyond his role as Founding Father. The polymath inventor was a significant figure in the American Enlightenment, paving the way for the evolution of politics, science, and even the country’s infrastructure.

[![Benjamin Franklin](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/hs-fs/file-21855136-jpg/images/franklinwithkey.jpg?width=269&height=364&name=franklinwithkey.jpg "Benjamin Franklin")](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&pageName=Search&category_id=0&authorField=&titleField=&orderBy=relevance&keywordsField=benjamin+franklin&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit)

### Humble Beginnings

Franklin’s father, Josiah Franklin, was a soap and candle maker who emigrated to [Boston](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&pageName=Search&category_id=0&authorField=&titleField=&orderBy=relevance&keywordsField=boston&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit) with his first wife, Anne Child, in 1683. The two had seven children together before Anne passed away. Josiah remarried Abiah Folger in 1689; Benjamin was their eighth child—and Josiah’s fifteenth.

 Franklin’s parents had little money, so Franklin received only a few years of formal education. He continued on his own, reading everything he could get his hands on.  When Franklin was 12, he began an apprenticeship with his older brother James, learning the printing industry.

### Launching a New Career

 Five years later he ran away to [Philadelphia](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/advSearchResults.php?action=search&pageName=Search&category_id=0&authorField=&titleField=&orderBy=relevance&keywordsField=philadelphia&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit), effectively making him a fugitive!  Franklin soon established himself as a leader in Philadelphia’s intellectual community. He was made Grand Master of the local Masonic lodge by 1734, a title that illustrates his esteem in the community. Here’s a look at other, lesser known milestones in Franklin’s life and career:

- In 1730 Franklin entered a common-law marriage with Deborah Read after her husband ran off with her dowry. Franklin had proposed to Deborah years before, when she was fifteen, but her mother objected to their match.

- Deborah allowed Franklin’s illegitimate son, William, to become a part of their family. William grew up to be the last Loyalist governor in the colonies, for which his father could never forgive him. The two were estranged, and William eventually settled in England.

- Franklin was a prolific inventor. He is credited with creating the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove, among many others. He never sought patents for his inventions, noting that they should be used for bettering society.

- Always interested in expediting news delivery, Franklin began to explore ocean currents and their effect on the duration of ocean voyages. With the help of his cousin, he identified and named the Gulf Stream, which had a significant impact on nautical [exploration](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?action=browse&orderBy=mostrecent&searchString=825) and seafaring.

- Franklin and his contemporary Leonhard Euler were the only major scientists of the time to support the wave theory of light. A major underpinning of [modern physics](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?mTitle=Mathematics%20and%20Physics&browseLetter=A&action=browse&orderBy=author&searchType=author&searchString=1238), this theory is the basic basis for the work of countless modern scientists, including Stephen Hawking.

- Though the field of [economics](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?mTitle=Mathematics%20and%20Physics&browseLetter=A&action=browse&orderBy=author&searchType=author&searchString=1238) would not be recognized until Adam Smith published *Wealth of Nations* in 1775, Franklin lent an economist’s eye to issues affecting farmers, such as price controls and subsidies for the poor. He also strongly advocated the use of paper money over metal-based currency.

- Franklin was the first [chess](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?action=browse&orderBy=mostrecent&searchString=820) player recognized by name in the American colonies. An avid player, he was also one of the earliest authors to address the game.  Franklin was even inducted into the US Chess Players’ Hall of Fame in 1999.

 All the while, Franklin built an extraordinary reputation as a statesman and diplomat. Though Franklin would never serve as [President](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?action=browse&orderBy=mostrecent&searchString=785), his revolutionary spirit and academic achievements have earned him a place as a truly beloved figure in [American history](http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/searchResults.php?mTitle=America&browseLetter=A&action=browse&orderBy=author&searchType=author&searchString=1294). Franklin’s legacy of excellence remains an inspiration every day.

![](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/hs-fs/hub/237126/file-312821311.jpg?width=80&name=file-312821311.jpg) 

[Kristin Masters](https://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/author/kristin-masters)

Master Content Brain. You think it, she writes it, no good thought remains unposted. Sprinkles pixie dust on Google+, newsletters, blog, facebook, twitter and just about everything else.

 

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