FRANKLIN ARMS
FRANKLIN ARMS
FRANKLIN SEAL
FRANKLIN SEAL
FRONTISPIECE
"He was therefore, feasted and invited to all the court parties. At these he sometimes met the old Duchess of Bourbon, who, being a chess player of about his force, they very generally played together. Happening once to put her king into prize, the Doctor took it. 'Ah,' says she, 'we do not take kings so.' 'We do in America,' said the Doctor."—Thomas Jefferson
A U T O B I O G R A P H Y
OF
B E N J A M I N
F R A N K L I N
CONTENTS
| Page | ||
| Introduction | vii | |
| The Autobiography | 1 | |
| I. | Ancestry and Early Life in Boston | 3 |
| II. | Beginning Life as a Printer | 21 |
| III. | Arrival in Philadelphia | 41 |
| IV. | First Visit to Boston | 55 |
| V. | Early Friends in Philadelphia | 69 |
| VI. | First Visit to London | 77 |
| VII. | Beginning Business in Philadelphia | 99 |
| VIII. | Business Success and First Public Service | 126 |
| IX. | Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection | 146 |
| X. | Poor Richard's Almanac and Other Activities | 169 |
| XI. | Interest in Public Affairs | 188 |
| XII. | Defense of the Province | 201 |
| XIII. | Public Services and Duties | 217 |
| XIV. | Albany Plan of Union | 241 |
| XV. | Quarrels with the Proprietary Governors | 246 |
| XVI. | Braddock's Expedition | 253 |
| XVII. | Franklin's Defense of the Frontier | 274 |
| XVIII. | Scientific Experiments | 289 |
| XIX. | Agent of Pennsylvania in London | 296 |
| Appendix |
| Electrical Kite | 327 | |
| The Way to Wealth | 331 | |
| The Whistle | 336 | |
| A Letter to Samuel Mather | 340 |
| Bibliography | 343 |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| Franklin at the Court of Louis XVI | Frontispiece |
"He was therefore, feasted and invited to