Early Years

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706, the 15th of 17 children. His father, Josiah, was a soapmaker and candlemaker who taught his son to read and sent him to school for two years. After working for a time in his father's shop, Franklin was apprenticed at the age of 12 to his brother James, a printer.

Franklin quickly became skilled in the printing trade. He also took an early interest in writing, and by 1722 was composing humorous pieces which were published under a pen name in James Franklin's newspaper, the New England Courant. When James was imprisoned briefly in 1722 for his criticism of Massachusetts public officials, Franklin took over as publisher of the Courant. In 1723 the brothers began to quarrel, however, and Benjamin left Boston for Philadelphia. He found work there in a print-shop.

Although only 17, Franklin gained a reputation as a skilled printer. The governor of Pennsylvania offered to help him start a shop of his own, and sent him to England to purchase equipment. The governor, however, failed to send the money to buy the equipment, and Franklin, his funds exhausted, was stranded in London. He found work there as a printer and stayed for a year and a half before returning to Philadelphia in 1726.

In 1728 Franklin and a friend started their own printing business. In two years Franklin became sole owner of the shop and publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette. A debating club, the Junto, started by Franklin in 1727, was the forerunner of the American Philosophical Society (founded 1743).

Franklin and Deborah Read (1708–1774) entered into a common-law marriage in 1730. They had two children—a son who died in infancy, and a daughter, Sarah (1744–1808). Franklin also had an illegitimate son, William (1731–1813), who grew up in his household and served as his assistant on some of his diplomatic missions. William became royal governor of New Jersey in 1763 and remained loyal to the crown in the American Revolution.