Some thoughts on Mr. Franklin

Benjamin Franklin’s most remarkable invention was himself. The tenth son of a candle-maker, he found fame and fortune as a writer, entrepreneur, politician, scientist, and diplomat. But he remained at heart a simple tradesman. He favored practical solutions over complicated theories and he firmly believed in the necessity of compromise.

Throughout his life Franklin embodied what we think of as the core “American” values: hard work and self-reliance, common sense and thrift, tolerance and compassion. In this spirit, Poor Richard can be read as a primer for building and sustaining a middle class. And a vital middle class has helped stabilize the extremes in our society ever since.

With his strong mind and quick wit, he was just as comfortable in the royal courts of Europe as he was in his local tavern. When Thomas Jefferson was asked if he had come to France to replace Franklin as America’s envoy, he replied “no one could ever replace Benjamin Franklin. I am only succeeding him.”

SOME FUN FRANKLIN FACTS:

·         He had only two years of formal schooling.

·         He invented the ‘armonica’, a glass musical instrument that is an adaptation of tuned glasses, the bifocal--he called them ‘double spectacles’, and the lightning rod.

·         He coined the term “Gulf Stream” to describe the warm water current he observed and measured during his voyages to England.

·         Long before it became common, he advocated daily exercise and the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

·         In his youth Ben Franklin was a champion swimmer.