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Benjamin Franklin: The Greatest Autobiographies Of All Time

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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is one of the greatest autobiographies of all time. It is filled with interesting details about Franklin and how he pursued his life. Benjamin Franklin was born January 16, 1706 and died on April 17, 1790. Franklin a Founding Father and polymath, excelled as an inventor, journalist, politician, scientist, and was probably the most successful diplomat in America. After Franklin died, his work became one of the most influential examples of an autobiography ever written. Although, Franklin lived a short life he accomplished great things during his existence. Franklin took part in The Stamp Act, assembled the first American lending library, helped Draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S constitution, and was part of many more contributions.
Benjamin Franklin was a very intelligent man who did not have an ordinary mind like most men in the eighteenth century did. “His inquiring mind was challenged most by the mechanics of the word’s seemingly ordinary phenomena, and he was convinced that his mind’s rational powers could solve riddles that had puzzled humankind for centuries” (Franklin 441). Franklin accomplished a lot …show more content…

“it has been described, for if it has not been all things to all men, it has at least been remarkable to most men who have read it. Its most admired qualities have changed as fashions, philosophies, and needs have changed. But, significantly, the book continues to survive such changes.” (About The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin). The book is filled with great insights into virtuous living which captivates anyone who lays eyes on his book. Readers say that the observations and curiosity he had combined with his style of writing makes it enjoyable. Also, one of the most realizations was how much importance he gave on the idea self improvement. This encourages the readers to strive for positive change in their

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868 Words | 4 Pages

Franklin attended the Albany Conference in June of 1754, after the war ending with France, where the safety of the Six Nations and Franklin’s country were discussed amongst the congress of commissioners. As for the commissioners for Pennsylvania, it was Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Norris, Mr. Penn, and Mr. Peters. Benjamin had then made a project in which allowed just one government to fuse together all of the other colonies. After he showed his project with Mr. Alexander and Mr. Kennedy, he then showed the congress, this was a good decision by Franklin because all the other commissioners were drawing up the same ideal plans. During this time, Franklin’s plan was reviewed heavily by the congress and countless oppositions resulted from it.

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593 Words | 3 Pages

Born in Boston 1706,Ben Franklin helped to draft the Declaration of Independence and the U.S constitution and he negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris which ended the revolutionary war. His scientific pursuits included investigations to electricity,mathematics and mapmaking. A printer and writer known for his wit and wisdom,Franklin was a polymath who published Poor Richard’s Almanack,invented Bifocal glasses and organized the first succsessful American lending library. Ben Franklin learned to read at an early age and despite his success at the Boston latin school,he stopped his formal schooling at age ten and helped his father work in his candle and soap shop Although James beat his young 2 younger brother,ben learned a great deal at newspaper publishing and adopted a similar board of subversive politics under the printers tutelage.

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537 Words | 3 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was an important figure in the history of the United States and

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534 Words | 3 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 and died in 1790. Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Massachusetts Bay Colony. Now known as Boston. His father was Josiah Franklin who was a soap and candle maker. His first wife was Anne Child, she gave birth to seven child.

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549 Words | 3 Pages

Born in 1706 as the eighth of 17 children to a Massachusetts soap and candlestick maker, the chances Benjamin Franklin would go on to become a gentleman, scholar, scientist, statesman, musician, author, publisher and all-around general genius were astronomically low, yet he did just that. Franklin wrote in the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in the 18th century. The ideals of the enlightenment are still thought of today, as they are a part of the United States’ Declaration of Independence and Constitution. When one remembers Benjamin Franklin very few people are aware of the fact that he worked as a printer until the age of 42. As a printer he had access to substantial amounts of literature.

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1285 Words | 6 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many trades who had significant impact on the revolutionary war. He was incredibly talented with beautiful philosophy. “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech”- (Benjamin Franklin). Benjamin Franklin and his involvement with the revolutionary war founded our country based on his background, virtues, education and inventions. From the start, Ben strived for greatness.

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942 Words | 4 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, politician, and he invents a bunch of cool things. Benjamin Franklin did not attend school until the age of ten. It took his father two years to pay for his son’s education. Franklin’s family household was large and he is the youngest out of his seventeen siblings. Benjamin Franklin grew up with an unfortunate lifestyle; in the fall of 1723, he went travelled to Philadelphia the city of Pennsylvania with a lack of budget and without support from anyone not even his close family.

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1312 Words | 6 Pages

Franklin values frugality so highly that he refers to as the way to wealth, freedom from debt, and “producing affluence and independence” (Franklin 38). Franklin goes as far as to “avoid all appearances to the contrary [of being frugal]”, by always dressing plainly when out in public and not being seen at expensive, “places of idle diversion” (Franklin 33). Franklin’s combined frugality and humble appearance worked in his favor, as he was seen as a “thriving young man” whom merchants would import stationery for and “others would supply . . . with books” (Franklin 33). This frugality of Franklin’s gave him social standing, success, and riches.

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596 Words | 3 Pages

The importance of Ben Franklin has been told all throughout history, along with the famous $100 bill with his face on it. Drafting the Declaration of Independence, foudning universities and libraries, the post office, shaping policies in the U.S., publishing newspapers, making advances in science, and letting us use bifocals and using lighting for electricity. Even if this man never finished school, he did much reading and experiments that help us out today. The reason why I chose to write about Benjamin Franklin was because he was a very important Founding Father and it’s important for people to learn all about

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1423 Words | 6 Pages

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706, coming from a family of descendants from Northamptonshire, England. He was the youngest son, and had 16 other brothers and sisters. Since an early age Benjamin had shown great enthusiasm and ability in reading and writing. Thus, his father Josiah, took him to his brother James, where he signed an 8-year contract to work for him, in his printing business. This is where Benjamin was able to take the opportunity to increase his reading and writing skills, which developed his interest over time.

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443 Words | 2 Pages

While exsisting in a moralistic society, there are expectations and rules for people to follow. In relation, people follow differnt virtues so that they can live their life following moral standards within their hearts. In “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” Benjamin Franklin includes a list of his thirteen virtues of which he believes are the most significant in living a moral and righteous life. Although this list may have been wrote in the eighteenth century, many of the virtues still are prevailant as well as not in today’s society. Putting ones self first is a motto that many people in today’s generation put forward to demonstrait and signify.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the largest fish in the world. The head is flattened and the wide mouth stretches almost as wide as the body. The dorsal fin is particularly large and the tail has a half-moon shape. The coloring of this whale is very distinctive. It has dark greyish-blue colour on the back and sides, and also pale yellow blotches.

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631 Words | 3 Pages

Benjamin Franklin is known to be an “Archetypal American,” because of his beliefs on religion, self-improvement, hard work, and determination; but also his somewhat prideful spirit. Much of modern America is quite similar to Franklin in his actions throughout his lifetime. In his early years, Franklin’s father, Josiah, had a set plan for what he was supposed to do with his life, as a minister. Soon into his education, he found an interest in reading and writing, so he began pursuing a career in printing.

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621 Words | 3 Pages

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is composed of four different parts that were written at three different periods in Franklin’s life. The first section starts with Franklin addressing his son and it seems as though Franklin is telling his life story so that it may be an example of how he was continuously improving himself. Franklin also makes mention of his religious beliefs and God throughout the book which seems to be a theme throughout the book. Throughout Franklin’s Autobiography there are many themes displayed; self-improvement and religion, seem to stand out as two of the major subjects that Franklin was focused on.

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1188 Words | 5 Pages

Many people think that The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is written to or for Franklin’s son, however it seems to be written to the general public. Most people believe that Benjamin Franklin is writing to his son. Franklin, at first, might have had the initial intention of writing this autobiography to his son because he started the essay with “dear son” (Franklin 1) and explains to him how he, himself, liked to hear about his ancestor’s stories. After telling the stories, Franklin starts to generalize what he is saying. He starts to tell his life story and his son is never directly mentioned in the book, until he is written about in part three.

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