Biography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17, 1706. He was the youngest son in a family of seventeen. His father was a salesman of candles and soap. Because the Franklin family was poor, Ben wasn't able to get much education. When he was ten years old, his father took him out of school and taught him the soap and candle business. However, Benjamin disliked the trade. Two years later, Ben was apprenticed to his brother who was a printer and publisher of The New England Courant. He became a very good printer. While he was apprenticed, he had frequent arguments with his brother. In 1723 he left his brother and went to New York City and then to Philadelphia.
When he got to Philadelphia, he got a job in the print shop of Samuel Keimer. Soon the governor of Pennsylvania, who was Sir William Keith, took an interest in young Benjamin. He promised to back Franklin in his own printing business and sent Ben to England to get a printing press. The governor didn't keep his promise and Franklin was stranded in England. Franklin spent a year and a half in England and worked in a few different printing houses. He returned to Philadelphia and soon was back in the printing business.
In 1728, Franklin and a partner, Hugh Meredith, opened their own print shop. They printed a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette. .
He married Deborah Read in 1730. They had three children, two boys and one girt. One of Franklin's sons later became governor of New Jersey. .
He worked as a printer from 1730-1748 and was successful. He became the official printer of Pennsylvania, then New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. During this time, he published "Poor Richard's Almanack". It was a very popular book that had the weather forecasts for the year as well as jokes and proverbs. He published it under the name of Richard Saunders. .
Franklin continued to study things such as science and foreign languages.