# William Franklin — The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin character guide

> William Franklin in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** William Temple Franklin, Temple Franklin

**First appearance:** 0011-viii-business-success-and-first-public-service

## Snapshot

The son who first received Franklin's life story as a private letter, later becoming royal governor of New Jersey and a painful political divide.

## Who they are

William Franklin is the intimate audience for the Autobiography's opening section, the son whose father writes with unusual warmth and informality. That closeness carries an undercurrent of tension: the same son would grow into a Loyalist officeholder, a choice that shadowed Franklin's later years. His presence shapes the book's very form, since the first part exists because a father wanted to tell his boy how he made his way.

## In the story

### [The Story of the Autobiography](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/the-story-of-the-autobiography)

Franklin's son, to whom the first part of the Autobiography was originally addressed as a letter.

### [The Story of the Autobiography](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/the-story-of-the-autobiography)

Franklin's grandson and literary executor who published the works in 1817 but took unwarranted liberties with the original manuscript, making over twelve hundred changes.

### [I: Ancestry and Early Youth in Boston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/i-ancestry-and-early-youth-in-boston)

Benjamin's son, to whom the autobiography is addressed as 'Dear Son'.

### [XIII: Public Services and Duties (1749–1753)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/xiii-public-services-and-duties-1749-1753)

Appointed clerk of the Assembly when Franklin takes his seat.

### [XVI: Braddock’s Expedition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/xvi-braddock-s-expedition)

Accompanies his father on the journey to meet General Braddock at Frederictown.

### [XVII: Franklin’s Defense of the Frontier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/chapters/xvii-franklin-s-defense-of-the-frontier)

Serves as Franklin's aid-de-camp during the frontier campaign, having been an officer in the previous war.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters/william_franklin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/franklin_autobiography_se/characters