Science Biographies: The Surprising Side to Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin is universally recognized as a Founding Father of the United States, but his legacy extends far beyond statecraft. He was a quintessential polymath—a writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat who continuously reinvented himself across his 84 years of life. This chapter explores the lesser-known dimensions of Franklin's life, tracing his journey from a self-educated printer's apprentice to a pioneering scientist, global diplomat, and complex historical figure.

1. The Making of a Polymath: Early Life and Educational Limits

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706, to Josiah Franklin, a candle and soap maker, and his second wife, Abiah Folger. Benjamin was the eighth of their ten children together, and Josiah's final son in a household that eventually included seventeen children (including seven half-siblings from Josiah's first marriage).

At the time of his birth, Boston was a bustling, chaotic seaport filled with sailors, merchants, preachers, and working-class citizens. Growing up alongside the Charles River, Franklin developed a lifelong love for swimming. Even as a child, his inventive mind was active; he designed his own early version of swim fins—two wooden hand paddles designed to help him glide through the water more rapidly.

Real-Life Analogy: The Wooden Hand Paddles

Just as modern athletes use specialized gear to optimize performance, a young Franklin recognized that the human hand was hydrodynamically inefficient. By carving wooden hand paddles, he created an early mechanical assist to increase surface area and water displacement, foreshadowing his future career as a practical inventor.

Despite his obvious intelligence, Franklin’s formal education was highly restricted:

• Duration: He received only two years of formal schooling.
• Financial Constraints: His father lacked the financial resources to sustain his education, squashing family expectations that Benjamin would attend Harvard University and eventually join the clergy.
• Termination: His formal schooling ended abruptly at age ten, forcing him to work in his father's candle shop.

2. The Self-Education Engine: Reading, Vegetarianism, and the Printing Press

What Franklin lacked in formal schooling, he compensated for through an insatiable passion for reading and self-improvement. He went to extreme lengths to acquire books, even adopting a vegetarian diet in his youth. This lifestyle choice allowed him to save money on food, which he immediately redirected toward purchasing literature.

Franklin’s intellectual development accelerated when he became an apprentice at the print shop of his older brother, James Franklin. This environment gave him direct access to books, intellectual discourse, and the mechanics of public communication.

The "Mrs. Silence Dogood" Letters

When James refused to publish Benjamin's writing in his newspaper (the New England Courant, one of the first newspapers in America), the 16-year-old Benjamin adopted the pseudonym "Mrs. Silence Dogood"—a fictional, middle-aged widow who wrote satirical letters commenting on Boston society, politics, and morals. He slipped these letters under the door of the print shop at night. They became a sensation, and James published them without knowing his teenage brother was the author.

At age 17, seeking independence and professional opportunities, Franklin ran away from his apprenticeship in Boston. He traveled first to New York and eventually settled in Philadelphia, which was then the largest and most culturally diverse city in British North America.

3. Domestic Life and the Common-Law Marriage

Upon arriving in Philadelphia in 1723, Franklin found work in local print shops and boarded at the home of the Read family. There, he fell in love with 15-year-old Deborah Read.

Their path to marriage was highly unconventional:

• Initial Rejection: Deborah’s mother initially refused to allow the marriage because Franklin was impoverished and lacked stable career prospects.
• Interim Marriage: While Franklin was away in London working in printing shops, Deborah married another man, who subsequently abandoned her and disappeared.
• Common-Law Union: Because divorce was legally difficult and her first husband's fate was uncertain, Franklin and Deborah entered into a common-law marriage in 1730.

Deborah proved to be an invaluable business and domestic partner. She helped raise Franklin's illegitimate son, William (born to an unidentified woman), and together they had two children:

1. Francis Folger Franklin: Died of smallpox at the age of four, a tragedy that led Franklin to advocate publicly for inoculation.
2. Sarah ("Sally") Franklin: Survived to adulthood and became a leader in civic organizations during the Revolutionary War.

4. The Junto and the Birth of America's First Lending Library

In his twenties, Franklin sought to foster civic improvement and intellectual growth in Philadelphia. In 1727, he established the Junto (also known as the Leather Apron Club).

The Junto Structure

The Junto was a mutual-improvement club consisting of young, working-class men from diverse trades—artisans, printers, and merchants—who met on Friday evenings. Modeled after the lively debates Franklin had witnessed in English coffeehouses, the members discussed morals, politics, natural philosophy, and science.

The Library Company of Philadelphia

Because books were expensive and difficult to import, Junto members initially pooled their private book collections. Recognizing the limitations of this small collection, Franklin conceived a broader solution: a subscription-based library where members pooled their money to purchase books from England that everyone could take turns reading.

This initiative, founded in 1731 as the Library Company of Philadelphia, became America’s very first lending library and served as a blueprint for public library systems worldwide.

5. Media as a Weapon: The Pennsylvania Gazette and "Join or Die"

Franklin eventually acquired The Pennsylvania Gazette, transforming it into one of the most prominent and influential newspapers in the colonies. He used the paper not only to report news but also to shape public opinion, publish his scientific findings, and advocate for colonial unity.

In 1754, during the French and Indian War, Franklin designed and published "Join or Die", widely considered the first political cartoon in America.

(Visual representation of the segmented snake cartoon)

The "Join or Die" Symbolism

• The Image: A snake chopped into eight distinct pieces.
• The Representation: Each piece represented a colony or region (New England was grouped as a single piece, which is why there were only eight segments representing the thirteen colonies).
• The Message: Based on the popular superstition that a severed snake would come back to life if its pieces were reunited before sunset, the cartoon warned that the colonies would perish individually under French and Indian attacks if they did not unite as a single political entity.

6. Harnessing the Heavens: The Science of Electricity

Franklin’s scientific curiosity led him to investigate natural phenomena, most famously electricity. In the mid-18th century, electricity was viewed primarily as a parlor trick or a mysterious fluid. Franklin hypothesized that lightning was actually a massive, natural electrical discharge.

The Kite Experiment (1752)

To prove his hypothesis, Franklin (assisted by his son William) conducted his famous kite experiment during a thunderstorm:

By drawing an electrical spark from the key to his knuckle, Franklin proved that lightning and electricity were identical.

The Invention of the Lightning Rod

Franklin immediately applied this scientific discovery to a practical problem. In the 18th century, lightning strikes frequently set wooden homes and cities on fire. Franklin designed the lightning rod:

This simple invention saved countless lives and properties, earning Franklin international fame as a premier natural philosopher.

7. Practical Ingenuity: Bifocals, the Franklin Stove, and the Glass Armonica

Franklin’s approach to invention was fundamentally utilitarian. He believed that inventions should improve daily life, and he famously refused to patent any of his designs, writing that "as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours."

The glass armonica became highly popular in Europe, and prominent composers like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven composed music specifically for it.

8. The Diplomatic Front: Securing France and Managing the Colonial Post

Franklin’s international fame as a scientist made him an incredibly effective diplomat. During the American Revolutionary War, he was dispatched to Paris as America's first official diplomat, tasked with securing a military alliance with France.

The French Alliance

Franklin understood the French fascination with America as a land of natural virtue. He played into this image by wearing a simple fur cap instead of formal court wigs. His charm, intellect, and strategic patience succeeded:

• France formally recognized the United States as a sovereign nation.
• France sent vital troops, naval support, and financial aid, which proved decisive in defeating the British.

Postmaster General

During the war, Franklin was also appointed Postmaster General of the colonies. He revolutionized the postal system by establishing faster, more reliable routes traveled by horseback riders.

This efficient communication network served as the vital nervous system that kept the thirteen disparate colonies connected and coordinated during the revolution.

9. Demography, Agriculture, and the "Founding Foodie"

Franklin was also a pioneer in the field of demography (the statistical study of human populations).

Demographic Observations

In his 1751 essay, Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc., Franklin made several groundbreaking observations:

• He noted that the American population was doubling roughly every 25 years due to abundant land and resources.
• He predicted that the population of the American colonies would surpass that of England within a century—a prediction that proved remarkably accurate.

Agricultural Experiments

Recognizing that a rapidly growing population required a more robust food supply, Franklin turned his attention to agriculture. Upon retiring from the printing business, he purchased a 300-acre experimental farm in New Jersey.

On this farm, he conducted systematic research into:

• Soil Drainage: Improving water management in fields.
• Crop Rotation: Alternating crops to preserve soil nutrients.
• Fertilization: Testing different chemical and organic fertilizers to boost crop yields.

Thanks to his diplomatic travels, Franklin acted as an early agricultural importer, introducing several international crops to America, including:

• Swiss Barley
• Scotch Kale
• Chinese Rhubarb
• Silk (via silkworms and mulberry trees)

10. Ideological Contradictions: Slavery, Immigration, and Later-Life Evolution

Like many figures of the Enlightenment, Franklin possessed deep ideological contradictions, particularly regarding race, immigration, and slavery. Over his lifetime, however, his views underwent a profound moral evolution.

Views on Race and Immigration

In his early writings, Franklin expressed xenophobic and ethnocentric views:

• German Immigrants: He publicly feared that an influx of German immigrants to Pennsylvania would "Germanize" the colony, rendering it unable to preserve English culture and language.
• Racial Bias: In his 1751 essay on demography, he questioned the wisdom of importing enslaved Africans, expressing a preference for preserving the "lovely white and red" complexions of North America.

Slavery and Abolitionism

For much of his life, Franklin was a slaveholder, owning several household slaves and running advertisements for the sale of enslaved people in The Pennsylvania Gazette.

However, in his later years, Franklin’s perspective shifted dramatically:

• He became an active supporter of the education of black children.
• He freed his slaves and joined the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.
• He eventually became the president of the society, and in 1790, he signed and presented a formal petition to the U.S. Congress urging the immediate abolition of slavery and the slave trade.

11. The Revolutionary Rift: Signing the Founding Documents and the Family Divide

The American Revolution did not just divide a nation; it fractured Franklin's own family. His illegitimate son, William Franklin, whom Benjamin had raised and helped secure the position of Royal Governor of New Jersey, remained a steadfast Loyalist to the British Crown.

This political divide caused a permanent estrangement. Benjamin Franklin never forgave his son for "taking up Arms against me," and the two never fully reconciled.

Despite this personal pain, Franklin cemented his place in history as the ultimate architect of the American republic. He is the only person to have signed all three of the foundational documents that established the United States:

12. Final Years, Legacy, and Myth-Busting

In his final years, Franklin suffered from severe obesity, gout (an inflammatory arthritis causing swollen, painful joints), and chronic lung disease.

In 1788, shortly after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Franklin wrote a letter to a French scientist friend containing one of his most famous observations:

"Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes."

On April 17, 1790, Benjamin Franklin died at his home in Philadelphia at the age of 84, when an abscess in his lungs burst. His funeral was attended by an estimated 20,000 people—nearly the entire population of Philadelphia at the time.

Myth vs. Reality in Franklin's Sayings

Over the centuries, several popular sayings have been misattributed to Franklin:

• The Myth: "A penny saved is a penny earned."
  • The Reality: Franklin never actually wrote or said this exact phrase. Instead, he wrote: "Remember that time is money."
• The Gravestone Tradition: Today, tens of thousands of visitors annually toss copper pennies onto Franklin’s gravestone at Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia for good luck, a physical tribute to the financial prudence he championed throughout his life.

Summary and Key Takeaways

• The Ultimate Polymath: Franklin excelled as a writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and agriculturalist, demonstrating that deep knowledge across diverse fields can drive societal progress.
• Self-Directed Education: Despite having only two years of formal schooling, Franklin used his passion for reading, personal sacrifices (such as adopting vegetarianism to buy books), and his printing apprenticeship to educate himself.
• Civic Innovation: He founded the Junto debate club and established America's first lending library (the Library Company of Philadelphia), proving that community collaboration can solve systemic resource shortages.
• Scientific Pragmatism: Franklin’s scientific work was defined by practical application; his kite experiment proved the electrical nature of lightning, which he immediately translated into the life-saving invention of the lightning rod.
• Refusal of Patents: Driven by philanthropic values, Franklin refused to patent his inventions—including the Franklin stove, bifocals, and the glass armonica—believing that technological advancements should be shared freely for the common good.
• Crucial Diplomat: His international fame and charm secured the French alliance during the Revolutionary War, providing the military and financial support necessary for American victory.
• Founding Father of Food: In his later years, Franklin applied scientific principles to agriculture on his 300-acre farm, experimenting with crop rotation and introducing crops like Swiss barley, Scotch kale, and Chinese rhubarb to America.
• Moral Evolution on Slavery: Though he was a slaveholder for much of his life and held ethnocentric views, Franklin evolved to become a passionate abolitionist, eventually serving as president of an anti-slavery society and petitioning Congress for its eradication.
• A Singular Legacy: Franklin is the only individual to sign all three foundational documents of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. Constitution.