Poor Richard's Almanack for 1733

by Benjamin Franklin

Overview

Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack was first published in 1733. Facing heavy competition from similar publications, Franklin took the unusual and controversial approach of injecting witty, unexpected entries between standard tables of tides, planetary motion, weather predictions and other facts. In the debut edition, faithfully reproduced here, he included under the heading Principal Kings of Europe, "Poor Richard, an American Prince, without subjects, his wife being Viceroy over him, born October 23, 1684, age 49." The Almanack went on to become the most popular book of it's kind in colonial America and was published annually for the next 25 years. This facsimile offers a unique and entertaining look at 18th century American life and humor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557095671
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	09/01/2002
Series:	Applewood Books
Pages:	28
Sales rank:	991,130
Product dimensions:	4.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.07(d)

About the Author

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was one of America's most influential Founding Fathers. He was an author, printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, statesman, and diplomat. Franklin invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and bifocals. He served as President of Pennsylvania (which would be Governor today), United States Minister to France, United States Minister to Sweden, and United States Postmaster General. At 70, he was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a publisher; most famously of Poor Richard's Almanack, which was published from 1732 to 1757. He charted the Gulf Stream in 1770, developed meteorological theories, and, in a letter dated 1772, laid out the earliest known description of a Pro & Con list. Franklin played the violin, harp, and guitar, and was the first chess player known by name in the American colonies. He created one of the first volunteer firefighting companies in America, was instumental in the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, and founded the American Philosophical Society. Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson calls him "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."