Happy Birthday Ben Franklin!!

At PBS.org they have an apt description of Mr. Franklin:

He was one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. Born into the family of a Boston candle maker, Benjamin Franklin became the most famous American of his time. He helped found a new nation and defined the American character. Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, humorist, civic leader, international celebrity . . . genius. Explore the life of a remarkable man.

Picture from the Library of Congress.

Here’s part of a brief biographical sketch of Mr. Franklin from Incwell.com‘s page entitled Spectrum Biographies:

Benjamin Franklin, born January 17, 1706, was the 10th son, and 15th child, of 17 children in the Josiah Franklin family. Josiah was a soap and candlemaker, who lived in Boston, Massachusetts with his second wife, Abiah Folger. Although Franklin learned to read at an early age, he only attended grammar school for two years. By the time he was 10 years old, Franklin was working for his father. However, he did not enjoy the candlemaking profession, and two years later, Franklin was apprenticed to his brother James, a printer.

You can read another brief biographical sketch at USHistory.org. The Library of Congress also has some information on Ben Franklin. And of course, read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin! It is online at USHistory.org, at the Internet Archive via Project Gutenburg, at the Internet Archive via the University of California…and more!