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Chapter companions for The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin.

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  1. Chapter 1

    The Story of the Autobiography

    This introductory chapter recounts the fascinating history of how Franklin's Autobiography was written and the adventures of its original manuscript. It describes how Franklin began the work as a letter to his son in 1771, how the manuscript was lost and recovered, and how it was eventually published in various editions, including a faulty French translation. The chapter also details the manuscript's journey through the hands of Abel James, Le Veillard, John Bigelow, and finally to Henry E. Huntington, and highlights the restoration of the authentic text by Bigelow, who corrected over twelve hundred changes made by Franklin's grandson.

  2. Chapter 2

    Epigraph

    Benjamin Franklin's will includes a bequest of one hundred pounds sterling to the free schools of Boston, to be used as a perpetual fund for awarding silver medals as honorary rewards to students.

  3. Chapter 3

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin recounts his early life, his apprenticeship to his brother James, his self-education in writing, his escape to Philadelphia, and his early career as a printer. He describes his moral and practical development, his founding of the Junto, and his establishment of the first subscription library in America.

  4. Chapter 4

    I: Ancestry and Early Youth in Boston

    Benjamin Franklin begins his autobiography by addressing his son, explaining his desire to record his life's circumstances for posterity. He reflects on his ancestry, noting that his family had lived in Ecton, Northamptonshire for three hundred years. He describes his father Josiah Franklin, a tallow-chandler and soap-boiler, and his mother Abiah. Franklin recounts his early education at a grammar school and later a writing school, his dislike for his father's trade, and his strong inclination for the sea. He shares an anecdote about building a wharf with stolen stones, which taught him that nothing useful is dishonest. He also details his father's character, emphasizing his sound judgment, mechanical genius, and role as an arbitrator, which influenced Franklin's own development.

  5. Chapter 5

    II: Beginning Life as a Printer

    Franklin recounts his early love of reading, his apprenticeship to his brother James, his early attempts at poetry, his self-education in writing and arithmetic, his vegetarian diet for frugality and study, his dispute with John Collins, his management of the New England Courant during his brother's imprisonment, the scheme to publish under his own name, and his eventual decision to run away to New York at age seventeen.

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  1. Chapter 6Arrival in Philadelphia
  2. Chapter 7IV: First Visit to Boston
  3. Chapter 8Early Friends in Philadelphia
  4. Chapter 9First Visit to London
  5. Chapter 10VII: Beginning Business in Philadelphia
  6. Chapter 11Business Success and First Public Service
  7. Chapter 12Plan for Attaining Moral Perfection
  8. Chapter 13X: Poor Richard’s Almanac and Other Activities
  9. Chapter 14Interest in Public Affairs
  10. Chapter 15XII: Defense of the Province
  11. Chapter 16XIII: Public Services and Duties (1749–1753)
  12. Chapter 17Albany Plan of Union
  13. Chapter 18XV: Quarrels with the Proprietary Governors
  14. Chapter 19XVI: Braddock’s Expedition
  15. Chapter 20XVII: Franklin’s Defense of the Frontier
  16. Chapter 21Scientific Experiments
  17. Chapter 22Agent of Pennsylvania in London
  18. Chapter 23Endnotes