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He had little formal education -

Despite often being referred to as the "most brilliant American of his age," Benjamin Franklin had little formal education. In fact, he only went to school for two years.

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He had little formal education -

By the age of 12, the young Benjamin Franklin had already started working as an indentured apprentice at a printing shop owned by his brother, James.

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He had little formal education -

Throughout his lifetime, the esteemed Founding Father compensated for his lack of education by spending his hard-earned money on books to read.

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He was a hit writer -

When his brother founded a weekly newspaper called the New England Courant in the 1720s, 16-year-old Benjamin Franklin secretly started submitting essays.

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He was a hit writer -

He published under the name of Silence Dogood, a fictitious widow whose publications offered commentary on various topics from fashion to religion.

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He was a hit writer -

The essays went down very well with the newspaper's readers, much to the chagrin of young Benjamin's jealous older brother. He published a total of 14 essays before revealing himself as the author.

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He was a successful businessman -

When Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia from Boston in 1723, he was broke. However, over the next two decades, he became very wealthy, largely thanks to the success of his print shop.

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He retired at 42 -

By 1748, the 42-year-old Benjamin Franklin had amassed enough wealth that he was able to retire and become a 'gentleman of leisure.'

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He retired at 42 -

He spent the next 42 years of his life studying science and coming up with ideas for inventions, such as the lightning rod and bifocal glasses.

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He invented a musical instrument -

Of all Benjamin Franklin's inventions, perhaps the strangest was the 'glass harmonica' - an instrument designed to replicate the sound a wet finger makes on the rim of a glass.

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He invented a musical instrument -

He made the original prototype in 1761 by mounting 37 glass orbs of different sizes and pitches onto a spindle. He then controlled the spindle with a foot pedal.

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He invented a musical instrument -

To play the unusual instrument, all that was needed was a wet finger. Thousands of these instruments were manufactured and famous composers such as Mozart wrote music for them.

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He was a reluctant revolutionary -

Of all the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was one of the last to come out in favor of full separation from Britain.

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He was a reluctant revolutionary -

He had lived in London for several years and held various royal appointments. This meant he was keen for a peaceful compromise and the preservation of the empire.

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He was a reluctant revolutionary -

In fact, when the events of the Boston Tea Party unfolded in 1773, he described them as an act of "violent injustice" and called for the East India Company to be compensated for its losses.

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He created a phonetic alphabet -

In 1768, while living in London, Benjamin Franklin became annoyed by the inconsistencies in English spelling. He therefore embarked upon a project to create a new alphabet.

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He created a phonetic alphabet -

His new phonetic system got rid of the supposedly redundant consonants; C, J, Q, W, X, and Y. At the same time, he added six new letters.

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He created a phonetic alphabet -

He unveiled his plan for the new alphabet in 1779, however, he quickly scrapped the project when it failed to arouse sufficient public interest.

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He had a British loyalist for a son -

Benjamin Franklin had two children with his wife, Deborah Read. However, he also fathered an illegitimate son called William, who was born around 1730.

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He had a British loyalist for a son -

In the early days, the two were close friends and partners. William helped his father with his famous kite experiment, for example.

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He had a British loyalist for a son -

However, the pair had a huge falling out over the American Revolution. William was a British loyalist, and his father apparently never forgave him for "taking up arms against him."

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He was a French fashion icon -

In 1776, the Continental Congress sent Benjamin Franklin to France in search of military aid for the revolution. Once there, his fame reached new levels.

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He was a French fashion icon -

Already well-known among the French, Franklin leaned into the American's reputation for being rustic: he dressed plainly and wore a fur hat.

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He was a French fashion icon -

This look soon became his trademark in France, and the women even took to copying the look by wearing oversized wigs they called "coiffure a la Franklin."

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He left an unusual will -

When Benjamin Franklin died in 1790, he left 2,000 pounds sterling to his birthplace, Boston, and to his adopted home, Philadelphia.

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He left an unusual will -

However, he specified that for the first 100 years after his death, the money was to be held in a trust and used only to provide loans to local tradesmen.

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He left an unusual will -

Another portion would remain off-limits for another 100 years until, eventually, the cities were able to spend the money as they saw fit.

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He was a keen swimmer -

Last but not least, one thing that many people don't know about Benjamin Franklin is that he was a very keen swimmer.

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He was a keen swimmer -

In fact, one of his earliest inventions was a set of wooden paddles that he used to propel himself across the Charles River in his hometown of Boston.

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He was a keen swimmer -

Later, when he was living in London, one of Franklin's friends was so impressed by his swimming prowess that he offered to help him open a pool.

Sources: (On This Day) (History)

See also: Scientists who warned about the dangers of their own discoveries

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