Franklin was an autodidact who left school at the age of 10 and quickly became  a jack-of-all-trades. The son of a blacksmith and one of seventeen children, Benjamin is the quintessential picaro who nimbly bounced to the top of the social ladder. By the end of his life, he became known as the man who dined with five kings. Easily Ben Franklin is synonymous with the American Dream, by many he is considered its founder.

In his prime Franklin was an author, diplomat, founding father, inventor, developer of the lending library and the fire brigade, printer, postmaster, and scientist.

Benjamin Franklin Mural in Philadelphia

Before turning to politics, the legendary Philadelphian statesman got his early start as a street performer. That’s right, Ben had a street act in which he performed his original songs and poems which slammed politics and government policy. He sold sheets of his poetry in the Philly streets—back when they were cobbled.

At the age of 12, Franklin became his brother’s apprentice and learned the printing trade from him. When Ben was 15, James founded The New-England Courant, the first truly independent newspaper in the colonies. Denied the chance to write for the paper by his brother, Franklin took on the voice “Silence Dogood“, a middle-aged widow, whose letters became the talk of the town. Franklin was always a stout advocate free speech. In 1722, his brother was jailed for publishing material unflattering to the governor, Ben took over the newspaper and had Mrs. Dogood proclaim: “Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech (Cato’s letters).”

Franklin was jailed more than once for publishing inflammatory material.

Despite his involvement with the American revolution, Franklin typically took anti-violence stance. It is known that despite his anti-Tory sentiments he frowned upon the Boston Tea Party, considering it destructive. Today, Franklin’s hometown of Philadelphia is known as city with a grim rate of violent crime. In 2005, the city launched “All Join Hands: Visions of Peace” a year-long project to combat youth violence which offered painting workshops and town-hall meetings where citizens of all backgrounds could tackle the issue of youth violence together. The eyes of Franklin, emblazoned in a mural across the face of Benjamin Franklin high school, testify to the project’s immense significance to Philly residents.

Throughout his life, Franklin was a formidable publisher, printing, to name a few of his publications, The Pennsylvania Gazette, Die Philadelphische Zeitung (the first German language newspaper in America), Father Abraham’s Sermon (also known as The Way to Wealth).