Benjamin Franklin Day Date in the current year: January 17, 2026

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was his father’s eighth child with his second wife, the tenth and final son, and the fifteenth child overall of seventeen children. He received only a brief formal education, ending around age ten. Afterward, he worked in his father’s shop and later as an apprentice to his older brother James, a printer. During his apprenticeship, Franklin learned the printing trade and began educating himself through extensive reading. He also developed an early interest in writing.

Due to tensions with his brother, Franklin ran away to Philadelphia at age seventeen, where he worked at several printing shops. By his early twenties, he had founded his own printing business and begun publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette. In 1732, he launched Poor Richard’s Almanack under the pseudonym Richard Saunders. The almanac became widely popular and brought him financial success.

Franklin’s political career gradually began through his involvement in Philadelphia’s civic life. He founded a public library, a volunteer firefighting company, and the American Philosophical Society. He also raised and helped finance a militia during King George’s War.

Franklin’s first formal political role came in 1737 when he was appointed postmaster of Philadelphia. He later became clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly and was elected to the Assembly in 1751, marking his entry into elected office. Two years later, he and William Hunter were jointly appointed deputy postmasters-general of British North America.

From the 1750s to the 1770s, Franklin spent most of his time in London as an agent for several colonies. He attempted to resolve disputes with Britain, initially seeking reform rather than independence. However, as tensions escalated, he broke with the British government and returned to America in 1775, fully committed to the revolutionary cause. He played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and was then sent as ambassador to France.

Following the war, Franklin participated in negotiating the Treaty of Paris, which formally ended British rule over the Thirteen Colonies. In his later years, he returned to the United States, served as president of Pennsylvania, and participated in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 where he lent his authority to the creation of the new federal system. Franklin spent his final years until his death in 1790 writing, reflecting on public life, and supporting causes such as education and abolition.

In recognition of Franklin’s role in shaping the United States, his portrait was placed on the one-hundred-dollar bill in 1914. Although Benjamin Franklin Day is not an official holiday, some individuals and organizations celebrate his birthday by hosting events, sharing his famous quotes, and highlighting his inventions.