‘Anecdotes of Dr Franklin’

Benjamin Franklin, one of the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the United States of America died in Philadelphia on 17 April 1790.

Franklin was no mere politician, however, and also worked as a writer, printer, scientist, inventor and musician. In short, he was a ‘Renaissance Man’ and a true son of ‘the Enlightenment’.

We found this terrific newspaper tribute to Franklin in ‘The Caledonian Mercury’ (published on 5 July 1790 – which just goes to show how fast news travelled even in the late 18th Century), and thought we’d post this article on the blog.

Caledonian Mercury – Monday 05 July 1790

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000045/17900705/017/0004