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Friends and colleagues:
Today I have the pleasure of writing to you about Benjamin Franklin, one of the most respected and admired figures of the American revolutionary period. Had he not died 216 years ago, this distinguished statesman, writer, publisher, inventor, and human rights advocate would have celebrated his 300th birthday last month. To be honest, if anyone of his era could have thought of a way to live to be 300 years old, it would surely have been Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, the tenth son of a candle and soap maker who had immigrated to that city from England in 1683. Though he attended grammar school, Franklin was in many ways self-taught, owing to the years he spent as an apprentice in his brother’s print shop where he became a voracious reader of the great works of literature and philosophy.
At age 15, Benjamin Franklin was given responsibilities for printing and distributing the Boston newspaper his brother founded in 1721. Shortly thereafter, the young Franklin published satirical accounts of the lives of Boston’s Puritan leaders. Following a dispute with his newspaper-owner brother, the nearly penniless Franklin left Boston to strike out on his own in Philadelphia, and pursue his dream of becoming a writer.
Philadelphia was famous for its philosophy of religious tolerance, and shortly after he arrived there, Franklin became a printer’s apprentice. By a twist of fate, he wrote a letter describing his plans for the future, which ultimately came to the attention of the governor of Pennsylvania. Impressed with the young Franklin and angered over the poor quality of work turned out by the city’s printers of the day, the governor offered him lucrative contracts to print government documents. A series of setbacks forced Franklin to leave Philadelphia and work for a printer in London, England.
In 1726, Franklin returned to Philadelphia to work as a merchant’s clerk, and again became a printer after the death of his employer. He opened his own business, purchasing a failing newspaper which he turned into a success called The Philadelphia Gazette. Franklin’s newspaper prospered in part due to his promise to not to print false stories. A few years later, he published a hugely popular compilation of sayings and weather forecasts for farmers that became known as Poor Richard’s Almanac.
Franklin began his political career in 1736, when he was elected clerk of the Pennsylvania colonial legislature, and a year later, when he became postmaster. He believed that modern European languages should replace Latin as the principle foreign tongue taught in school, and advocated teaching business administration to women. He also supported the construction of orphanages and organized volunteer fire fighting companies. He later chartered a university that eventually became the highly respected University of Pennsylvania.
In 1748, Franklin demonstrated his genius as an inventor, when he created the “Franklin stove,” which was credited for vastly reducing fires in the city of Philadelphia. He thereafter retired from printing and focused on the sciences, where his fascination with electricity led him to develop “lightning rods,” to protect people’s homes from fire. Many electrical terms we use today, such as battery, positive/negative, and charge, originated from Franklin’s experiments. Other inventions followed, including the catheter.
Franklin turned his attention to geopolitical matters when the French and Indian War broke out in 1753. At a conference, Franklin proposed a unified council of delegates representing Great Britain’s colonies in North America, to discuss common defense and relations with the continent’s Native American tribes. He also became a military advisor to Britain’s continental army.
In the early 1760s, Franklin met with British political leaders in the hope of enhancing their understanding of the American continent and the egalitarian beliefs of Britain’s colonists there. He was unsuccessful in changing the perceptions of the colonies’ British rulers, who adhered to such traditional governing concepts as the inherent correctness of aristocrats. Franklin at this time championed the rights of Native Americans, sometimes at great personal risk.
Following a dispute between Franklin and the heirs of the founder of the colony of Pennsylvania, Franklin moved to England for 10 years, where he became something of a lobbyist for the interests of the British colonists in North America. Angered by Britain’s disregard of the grievances of its colonists, Franklin traveled to France and later to Ireland, where he became a sympathizer of the cause of rebels who opposed the British occupation of their island.
At this time, a series of taxes and other measures caused a fissure in the relationship between the North American colonists and their British leaders, with the former ultimately demanding independence from Britain. Franklin became Pennsylvania’s representative in the nascent Continental Congress. As chairman of the Committee of Safety, he was responsible for organizing an anti-British militia. In 1775, Franklin drafted the Articles of Confederation, which proposed a union of the North American colonies. Though it was rejected, the Articles of Confederation became a model for the drafting of the United States’ first constitution.
In 1776, the Continental Congress sent Franklin to French Canada, where he tried without success to gain allies in the confrontation with Great Britain that became the American Revolutionary War. Upon his return, Franklin became a member of the congressional committee that drafted the American Declaration of Independence.
With American independence declared, Benjamin Franklin crossed the Atlantic in a journey to France, in search of military support. Had British sailors captured him, Franklin would most likely have been executed as a traitor to the Crown. Upon his arrival in France, Franklin became a hero in France and obtained French military assistance and advice, which were key to the American victory over Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. After serving as the first US Ambassador to France, Franklin returned to the United States in 1785, and participated in the deliberations that led to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
An advocate in his later years for the abolition of slavery, Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790. This celebrated hero is remembered for the wisdom he displayed as a statesman; his genius as an inventor and scientist; for the contributions he made to the cause of freedom and liberty; and for giving us numerous many witty sayings that have become part of the American language.
In honor of Benjamin Franklin’s instrumental role in the creation of the American republic, and in recognition of his support for education, his name graces our library in Mexico City. I encourage you to visit this impressively endowed and important institution. I think you will agree that it lives up to Benjamin Franklin’s legacy.
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