Benjamin Franklin
Nathan Parkins
An interesting person
Early life
Middle Life
Much has been made of Franklin’s life in Paris as essentially the first U.S. ambassador to France, chiefly his romantic life. Deborah, his wife of 44 years, died in 1774, two years before he accepted the post, and Franklin had a rich romantic life in his nine years abroad. He even proposed marriage, to a widow named Madame Helvetius, but she rejected him.
Later Life
3 Fun Facts
1. At the age of twenty-two, Ben Franklin was the owner of the Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper. His printing company printed the paper money for both Pennsylvania and Delaware.
2. Ben Franklin first saw himself in print at age 16, writing his controversial, feminist "Silence Dogood" letters, published anonymously in his brother's newspaper, The New England Courant.
3. Ben Franklin taught himself to read French, Spanish, Latin, and Italian. His passion for self-improvement extended to public projects; he organized the first fire company in the colonies, made designs for paving and lighting Philadelphia streets and for expanding the city watch to a force of police.