Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

A Letter To William My Son:

This is an influential and famous memoir of Benjamin Franklin. He was a statesman and one of the founding fathers of the United States. He is considered as one of the most influential Americans to have lived. This autobiography starts with a letter written to his son William. Giving him the story of the Franklin family history.

Benjamin talks of his childhood in Boston, how at age ten he stopped schooling and worked for his father. At age twelve he becomes an apprentice of his brother James. It is then that he acquired printing skills which later saw him work in different places. After a fallout with his brother James, he journeys to England to work as a printer. He later traveled back home and started his own business in printing. He married Deborah Read in 1730 and together they had two children.

As an established businessman Franklin started an influential club called Junto. It was a gentlemen club based on debates on scientific and philosophical nature. They started multiple projects including a subscription library. Benjamin writes about his beliefs, he at one point became a vegetarian and a follower of a certain sect until his leader quit his faith three months later.

In the memoir the book has detailed the following at length:

• Franklin's family history.
• Benjamin the apprentice.
• Benjamin's new passion for writing and debating.
• Benjamin's printing business.
• The thirteen virtues of Benjamin.
• Benjamin's timeless innovations.
• The start of the first American public hospital.
• His influence on the military.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. He was an American statesman, printer, scientist, and writer. He died on April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He wrote his autobiography from 1771 to 1790 when he passed on. The autobiography was considered as the unfinished account of his own life.