The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

"Written between 1771 and 1790, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is an unfinished record of Franklin's rich life history and the legacy he built in his scientific and political career. The classic memoir was published after Franklin passed away. The autobiography is divided into four parts, with each part chronicling the events from different time periods when he wrote it. The first part of the book contains letters that he wrote to his son, William, detailing their lineage and his stay in England. Franklin wrote the second part while he was still in France; his relations soured with William after the Revolutionary War. In the third part, he chronicled his return to America where he records all the progress achieved by his country. The fourth part, however, remains incomplete and only contains notable events from the last year of Franklin's life. Franklin's autobiography continues to inspire generation after generation of readers across the world. Interestingly, in the introduction to the 1916 edition of the biography, the editor F.W. Pine wrote that it provided the ""most remarkable of all the remarkable histories of our self-made men"", with Franklin as the greatest example of the ""self-made man"". "

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Popularly known as the "First American", Benjamin Franklin remains one of the most celebrated political figures in American history. Born on 17 January 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin was a polymath who was a statesman, diplomat, politician, scientist, an activist, inventor, and author. A leading intellectual of his time, Franklin is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and the first United States Postmaster General. Benjamin Franklin was born to Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker, and his second wife, Abiah Folger. The 15th child and the youngest son in the family, Franklin dropped out of formal schooling at the age of 10 to help his father with soap and candle making to help him make money. In 1723, he fled to New York and finally settled in Philadelphia, where he started working with a printer. Over the years, his scientific pursuits led him to craft a number of inventions, including Franklin stove, bifocals, rocking chair, American penny, flexible catheter, and so on. In his public life, he helped in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. He also negotiated the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which was instrumental in ending the Revolutionary War. Franklin was honoured centuries after he passed away on the 50 cent piece and $100 bill, as well as warships, and even in the names of towns and institutions - a testament to his unparalleled political and scientific legacy.