This is part of a 2 week series called People Worth Knowing. We will be featuring great people throughout history that have had a great impact and changed the course of history. These are all people worth knowing, and their examples will lead us into a greater future.
Benjamin Franklin (1705-1790)
One of the founding fathers of the United States of America, an author, printer, political theorist, scientist, inventor and so much more, Benjamin Franklin was a true polymath, or Renaissance Man. He wasn’t just a jack of all trades, but rather a scholar of all trades. Franklin was a man of strong character, great influence, and a true testament to the fact that we can be not only anything but everything we want to be, and be great at each of them.
As a young man Benjamin was the youngest of 15 children. His formal education consisted of 2 years at Boston Latin School. The rest of his education was self taught, through reading anything he could get his hands on. Benjamin never attended school after age 10, took up printing at 12, and had already published his own newspaper, The New-England Courant by age 15. Writing under the pseudonym Mrs. Silence Dogood, Benjamin’s writing became quite a controversy.
In 1727, at age 21, Benjamin created the Junto, a mastermind group of “like minded aspiring artisans and tradesmen who hoped to improve themselves while they improved their community.” The Junto pooled money and created the first American library. In 1731 Benjamin was initiated into the Freemasons, becoming a grand master in 1734, indicating his rapid rise of prominence in Pennsylvania. He also began publishing the now famous Poor Richard’s Almanack under the pseudonym Richard Saunders.
Throughout the course of his life, Benjamin Franklin was a prodigious inventor. But Franklin never patented his inventions. He was of the “open source” mindset, as he wrote, “… as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours and this we should do freely and generously.” Among other social innovations, he was also the creator of the idea of paying it forward. His inventions were always of increasing efficiency and human improvement.
Why I chose Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin is a great testament to the idea that as humans we are ever growing, always evolving. It is the responsibility of each of us to always seek to improve ourselves so that we may better help each other and serve our communities. Franklin has influence my life in too many ways to count. His mastery of language and writing convinced me of the necessity for me to gain a better command of my own lexicon and writing. His polymathy inspired in me the idea that I need not choose a single career path or skill set, but rather I could spend time mastering many skills. His strong moral character inspired in me the strength to develop myself to a high moral standard, and his sense of social responsibility inspired me to work with my community and humanity at large in any way that I could. Franklin’s involvement with social groups like Junto and the Freemasons were even the inspiration for me joining the Houston Skyline Rotary Club.
Franklin was a great man. The things he did for his communities, the standards he held himself to, are proof of his strong will and desire to do great things for mankind. If I can harness in myself half of the discipline Franklin had for personal development, I will consider myself an accomplished man.
