Defining himself as “The youngest Son of the youngest Son for five Generations back,” Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout his life, Franklin would be known as a writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
Perhaps, most of all, he would be known as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. In this article, I am exploring Franklin’s virtues, a set of personal values Ben Franklin defined for himself in an effort to become, or at least try to be, the best version of himself.
Benjamin Franklin’s Short Bio
Although he only had a few years of formal education, which ended when he was ten years old, Franklin continued to learn on his own, primarily focusing on his writing craft. He knew instinctively that writing skills were relevant, as it was an aptitude few had a good grasp on in those days. In his Autobiography, he admitted that writing was “of great use to me in the course of my life, and was a principal means of my advancement.”
When Franklin’s brother James founded a newspaper in 1721, Franklin, then fifteen, began writing for it. From then on, Franklin’s life continued to unfold in a series of ventures and life experiences that led to him…
