Good MorningI've decided I'm going to do a daily thread on notable historical figures throughout all of history. I have compiled a rather large list, but am open to suggestions. I will be going in no particular order to keep it more exciting.Benjamin Franklin (1/17/1706 - 4/17/1790) is one of the USA's founding fathers. He was a Revolutionary hero who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and was also our first postmaster general.Some notable things he is known for include the following>Spearheading the removal of the Stamp Act>Major newspaper owner in Philadelphia. Published the Pennsylvania Chronicle>Founded the University of Pennsylvania, Library Company, and Pennsylvania's first fire department. >Created the American Philosophical Society>Proved that lightning is electrical discharge with the famous kite experiment>First US ambassador to France and major figure for French-American relations>Three-year president of Pennsylvania>One of the first abolitionists>Charted and named the Gulf Stream current>Invented the lightning rod, bifocals, glass harmonica, and Franklin stove. >Sometimes called "The First American.">Only one to sign the Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Paris, and the Constitution. >Face on the $100 US Dollar. >More than 30'000 letters plus an autobiography have preserved much of his daily thoughts.Discuss the man who really didn't like taxes
>>18675120I'm under the impression that he was a streaker.
>>18675126He loved swimming naked and did this thing called "air bathing" where he'd sit in his room naked and let air circulate.
>While in France, Franklin met Edward Gibbon and told him he was a big fan of the latter's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Gibbon thanked him, but said that as an ardent English patriot, he could not befriend a man who participated in a rebellion against His Majesty. Franklin replied that he might suggest as a follow-up a series about the decline and fall of the British Empire.[3]
>>18675120He was supposedly charismatic, but he comes off as unbearable to be around.
>>18675282bro's got the og signature look of superiority
>>18675282To this day, his definition of who isn't white in the US remains the only correct, honest and applicable one.
>The octogenarian Franklin attended the Constitutional Convention in 1787 as a delegate, more a passive observer/elder statesman than someone actively involved in the debates over the Constitution. After the convention concluded, he walked outside and was greeted by an onlooker who said "Well, Dr. Franklin, what kind of a government do we have?" "A republic, if you can keep it," was the reply.
He wrote a book on farting. Pretty based.
>>18675120Was anyone after him as much of a Renaissance man? Imagine making significant contributions to science and to one of the most important states in history (though of course he didn't live to see it flourish)
He never patented anything he made because he wanted people to use it for freeBased
>In 1790, three months before his death, Franklin wrote to a New England minister the following: "You had written to me asking my views on religion and in particular Christianity. It is my opinion that the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth constitute, on the whole, the most humane and enlightened system of belief the world has ever known. That said, I believe many of his teachings have been corrupted by his followers and I also have my doubts as to his divine nature. In that sense I am inclined to agree with the Dissenters in England. It is not a question I trouble myself greatly with, however, for I am not long for this world and whatever the truth may me, I shall soon find out."
since im an eye doctor, i care that he invented the bifocal.
>>18675302Didn't he think most Germans were swarthy? I think you could only reasonably hold yourself to this if your were a profoundly insecure about some marginal brown ancestry, maybe 1/32nd negro or the like. Not that these were his motivations, but I suspect they are yours.
>>18675120jay dyer told me he's a satanist
If he'd been elected president, would he have been a good one? Pretend for the sake of the question his age isn't an issue.
>Gave advice on picking mistressesYeah, i'm thinking based
>>18675302pretty sure that entire thing was a shitpost and not meant to be taken seriously
Benjamin Franklin’s 1745 letter commonly titled “Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress.” is a real Franklin letter, written privately rather than as a public essay.Franklin first advises the young man to marry rather than keep a mistress. But if he refuses to marry, Franklin recommends choosing an older woman. His reasons (presented partly seriously and partly as bawdy humor) include:>Older women supposedly have more worldly experience and conversation.>They are more discreet about affairs.>Franklin argues that aging affects a woman’s appearance “from the head downward,” so an older woman may look younger when clothed than her age suggests.>He claims there is less risk of pregnancy.>He says older women would be more grateful for the attention.>He finishes with the cheeky argument that, in the dark, “all Cats are grey.”
>>18677868I think the first 5 presidents were exactly who they needed to be for exactly as long as they needed to be so replacing any of them with Franklin would be a downgrade
>>18677911>Franklin argues that aging affects a woman’s appearance “from the head downward,” so an older woman may look younger when clothed than her age suggestsI guess women didn't spend as much time in the sun in those days.
>>18678130upper class women didn't, i imagine lower class women had their time in the sun
>>18678130Franklin also never visited the South where everyone turned to beef jerky from the intense sun.
>>18677911>He claims there is less risk of pregnancyHe learned his lesson after fathering his illegitimate son who became governor of New Jersey and a Loyalist cuck during the war.
>>18678118Adams was a bit meh. He had no charisma. Franklin was beloved in France. He could've kept relations good even with the change in power. Also, no stupid Alien and Seditions Act
>>18678154Adams > Franklin>Alien and Seditions ActSStop falling for Adams Derangement Syndrome being pushed by the Hamilton and Jefferson run presses. Adams perfectly charted a course between the great powers to avoid America's ruin.
>>18678203We almost went to war with France. Franklin could've easily avoided that and gotten done all Adams wanted by just not being a social outcast.
>>18675120OP do George Mason at some point, I had never heard of him until stumbling across his little monument in DC. Man was gigabased
>>18675317They couldn't keep it, the Republic died and it's a democracy now, aka more than half of the population who are net tax drains decide the future of the country based on their feelings and promises of more "free" stuff paid for by the minority of net tax surplus payers (white men).
>>18678228Avoiding war with France was easy. Avoiding war with France while not ruining the commercial relationship with Britain was not, as Jefferson and Madison's mismanagement a decade later showed
>>18675120A Hero of the Revolution
>>18679354Wouldn't call it mismagement. Perfidious Albion will always push matters.
>>18675120>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYCLldrYMu4
