Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Bibliography of Benjamin Franklin
This is a comprehensive list of primary and secondary works by or about Benjamin Franklin, one of the principal Founding Fathers of the United States. Works about Franklin have been consistently published during and after Franklin's life, spanning four centuries, and continue to appear in present-day publications. Scholarly works that are not necessarily subject-specific to Franklin, yet cover his life and efforts in significant measure, may also be included here. In contrast, this bibliography does not include the numerous encyclopedia articles and short essays about Franklin.
During Franklin's lifetime he corresponded with hundreds of people, especially during the revolutionary era. Historian Carl Becker says of Franklin that he "was acquainted personally or through correspondence with more men of eminence in letters, science and politics than any other man of his time".
Most of Franklin's biographers cover his printing and publishing involvements in varying proportions, while other works focus on this idea entirely. Franklin's early and mid life was greatly involved in that effort, beginning as an apprentice in the Boston print shop of his brother, James Franklin. He soon acquired and became the editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette and began publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Franklin also brought innovations to the printing trade, helped to establish paper mills, and introduced new and improved printing type to colonial printers. During his career he took on various apprentices, and helped establish other upstart printers. Franklin's persistent efforts subsequently brought him favorable notoriety in printing and publishing circles, and a good measure of wealth by mid-life, inspiring him to write The Way to Wealth in 1758.
Franklin was widely considered by his contemporaries and others to be the best scientist in his time. He became curious about scientific phenomena as a youth, didn't pursue the field for pecuniary purposes, and rarely patented his inventions. Many of Franklin's scientific pursuits, mostly involving electricity, occurred while he was in England, where was made a member of the Royal Society and worked with scientists like John Canton, Peter Collinson, Johann Friedrich, John Hadley, Georg Wilhelm Richmann and Joseph Priestley, a well-known scientist in his own right who worked closely with Franklin, and did much to spread his fame.
Many editions of Franklin's autobiography have been published over the years, some with letters, writings and other related material authored by Franklin. Franklin's original manuscript of his autobiography, written in French, was not published while Franklin was alive and had disappeared sometime after his death. It was later discovered by Edouard Laboulaye and purchased by John Bigelow for 25,000 franks, who published it in 1868.
This collection of Franklin's letters and other works is a collaborative effort by a team of scholars and editors at Yale University and American Philosophical Society and is an ongoing effort which began in 1959, with more than forty volumes published, and is expected to reach upwards near fifty volumes upon completion. Those that are available for viewing are listed below.
The Writings of Benjamin Franklin is a collection of works, edited by Professor Albert Henry Smyth, a past member of the American Historical Society, and published in ten volumes between 1905 and 1907
Many of the papers of individuals closely associated with Franklin often offer much information about Franklin.
Hub AI
Bibliography of Benjamin Franklin AI simulator
(@Bibliography of Benjamin Franklin_simulator)
Bibliography of Benjamin Franklin
This is a comprehensive list of primary and secondary works by or about Benjamin Franklin, one of the principal Founding Fathers of the United States. Works about Franklin have been consistently published during and after Franklin's life, spanning four centuries, and continue to appear in present-day publications. Scholarly works that are not necessarily subject-specific to Franklin, yet cover his life and efforts in significant measure, may also be included here. In contrast, this bibliography does not include the numerous encyclopedia articles and short essays about Franklin.
During Franklin's lifetime he corresponded with hundreds of people, especially during the revolutionary era. Historian Carl Becker says of Franklin that he "was acquainted personally or through correspondence with more men of eminence in letters, science and politics than any other man of his time".
Most of Franklin's biographers cover his printing and publishing involvements in varying proportions, while other works focus on this idea entirely. Franklin's early and mid life was greatly involved in that effort, beginning as an apprentice in the Boston print shop of his brother, James Franklin. He soon acquired and became the editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette and began publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Franklin also brought innovations to the printing trade, helped to establish paper mills, and introduced new and improved printing type to colonial printers. During his career he took on various apprentices, and helped establish other upstart printers. Franklin's persistent efforts subsequently brought him favorable notoriety in printing and publishing circles, and a good measure of wealth by mid-life, inspiring him to write The Way to Wealth in 1758.
Franklin was widely considered by his contemporaries and others to be the best scientist in his time. He became curious about scientific phenomena as a youth, didn't pursue the field for pecuniary purposes, and rarely patented his inventions. Many of Franklin's scientific pursuits, mostly involving electricity, occurred while he was in England, where was made a member of the Royal Society and worked with scientists like John Canton, Peter Collinson, Johann Friedrich, John Hadley, Georg Wilhelm Richmann and Joseph Priestley, a well-known scientist in his own right who worked closely with Franklin, and did much to spread his fame.
Many editions of Franklin's autobiography have been published over the years, some with letters, writings and other related material authored by Franklin. Franklin's original manuscript of his autobiography, written in French, was not published while Franklin was alive and had disappeared sometime after his death. It was later discovered by Edouard Laboulaye and purchased by John Bigelow for 25,000 franks, who published it in 1868.
This collection of Franklin's letters and other works is a collaborative effort by a team of scholars and editors at Yale University and American Philosophical Society and is an ongoing effort which began in 1959, with more than forty volumes published, and is expected to reach upwards near fifty volumes upon completion. Those that are available for viewing are listed below.
The Writings of Benjamin Franklin is a collection of works, edited by Professor Albert Henry Smyth, a past member of the American Historical Society, and published in ten volumes between 1905 and 1907
Many of the papers of individuals closely associated with Franklin often offer much information about Franklin.
