BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DIES:April 17, 1790

History Channel.com ^ | 4/17/2005 | staff

[freedumb2003]

Breaking news! ;)

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

[Larry Lucido]

flew a kite in a thunderstorm to prove that lightning is an electrical discharge

The father of all zots?

[Clemenza]

I'm sure the local brothels in Philly closed for the day to honor one of their top customers. ;-)

RIP Uncle Ben.

[kellynla]

Some informative links about Benjamin Franklin
http://www.english.udel.edu/lemay/franklin/
http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/rotten.html
lhttp://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/inventor.html

[12 Gauge Mossberg]

"A Republic, if you can keep it."

[kellynla]

And here's another excellent link
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/

And his autobiography
http://earlyamerica.com/lives/franklin/

[raccoonradio]

by the way some radio stations across the US and Canada have broadened their music mix a bit ("We play anything"--well, not quite...) and named themselves after first names: Jack, Frank,
Alice, Mike (in Boston), Bob...and guess what Philly has?

Yup... Ben. Mr Franklin (born in Beantown, moved to
the City That loves You back) has his own station kinda.

http://www.mix957online.com/

[Libertina]

This man had inspired ideas! One of my favorites!

[Yossarian]

I'm sure the local brothels in Philly closed for the day to honor one of their top customers. ;-)

Do you have any researched citation to back that up?

I know all kinds of Ben Franklin myths abound, and nobody knows who the mother of his son is. But I've never heard of him cavorting with prostitutes, and I consider a statement like that about a Founding Father to be a smear.

[CzarNicky]

I didn't even know he was sick.

[Clemenza]

Lighten up Captain Yossarian! We know he was a notorious womanizer, and most likely didn't NEED to pay for sex. Cavoriting with Prostis is one of many rumors I have heard. I'd have to say that the oddest myth I ever heard about Franklin was that he was a "nauturalist."

[spinestein]

He was a great lover of America's early craft brews.

And even though it hasn't been easy, we still have our Republic after more than 200 years.


Thanks, Benjamin.

[Publius]

Do you know why Franklin is smirking in his portrait on the $100 bill?

Because he was the one Founder who was smart enough not to get elected president -- and he knew it.

[Colinsky]

Franklin said that one of the reasons he was stranded in London as a young man was that he spent too much of his money on "women of low station."

But maybe he was just taking them out on dates.

[Plutarch]

Do you want another amazing achievement of Franklin? He coins one of the greatest quotations of all time, for which alone we would probably remember him, only 5 months prior to his death at age 83.

Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

Letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, November 13, 1789

Google search: “Death and taxes” : 138,000 entries.

[Plutarch]

Because he was the one Founder who was smart enough not to get elected president -- and he knew it.

Not becoming President at age 84 was indeed a wise move.

[KevinDavis]

I think Ben Franklin and the other founders will be pleased that we are the worlds superpower...