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Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was the youngest member of a family of seventeen children. His father was a poor man, who made his living by boiling soap and making candles. He went to school barely two years, though all his life he was a hard student. There was never a boy more fond of books than he; he borrowed them from anybody who would lend them to him, and, oftentimes, sat up all night reading. In this way, he became one of the most learned men in the country.

He began life by working for his brother in a printing office, where he soon became an expert type-setter. He read all the articles printed in his brother's paper, and decided he could write better ones. He slipped his own articles under the door of the printing office, without signing them. His brother was so pleased with them that he printed every one. One day, he said, "Ben, whoever writes these articles has plenty of sense. I wish I knew who he was." But Franklin never told his secret.