Benjamin Franklin

The inventor, philosopher, and elder statesman of the American Revolution never gave up on his first love — publishing.

On our millennia-long love-hate relationship with getting in the water.

To colonial Americans, termination was as normal as the ABCs and 123s.

The filmmaker’s new documentary on Benjamin Franklin tells an old and misleading story.

Uncovering the fallacy of his iconic image as a man ruled by solely by reason and logic.

The statesman was embarrassed by the mishap—no doubt a murder most fowl.

Benjamin Franklin's writing about losing his son to smallpox is a must-read for parents weighing COVID-19 vaccines today.

Fact-checking the lyrics of Miranda's new song.

Historian Thomas S. Kidd examines the tension between Benjamin Franklin's deism and his frequent religious rhetoric.

The origins of the more passive view of the freedom of the press can be traced back to Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin introduced the magical picture, an experiment that played on the king's beloved image and his deadly force.

On the centuries-long historical evolution of a serpentine symbol.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man of letters, in possession of a goodly number of books, must be in need of a ladder.

John Mitchell's renowned 1755 map was a part of King George III's extensive collection of topographical charts that helped shape American designs on Canada.

While many Americans gushed about the effectiveness of the ‘Destruction of the Tea,’ others thought it went too far.

Americans have long nurtured mixed feelings about age and aged leaders. Yet during the country’s founding, a young America admired venerable old sages.

Efforts in early America to educate Black children offer us a template for addressing educational inequality today.

Lost wars, especially when defeat comes as a rude surprise, inevitably spark painful self-examination.

Fuel for the revolution came from a source familiar today: distorted news reports used to drum up enthusiasm for overthrowing an illegitimate government.

White racial victimhood was a primary source of power for settlers who served as shock troops for the nation.