No! No!!! It was Ben, not Tom. August 19, 2010
Posted by ourfriendben in Ben Franklin, wit and wisdom.Tags: Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, Thomas Jefferson
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Egads. Someone came on our blog, Poor Richard’s Almanac, last night with the search phrase “Thomas Jefferson published Poor Richard’s Almanac.” No no no no no.
Far be it from us to disparage Mr. Jefferson, whose thoughts, inventions and achievements have inspired so many. But excuuuse us: It was our own hero and blog mentor, the great Benjamin Franklin, who published Poor Richard’s Almanack, not President Jefferson. And we can further state that Dr. Franklin’s almanac was the second most popular publication in the Colonies, after the Bible. Many Colonial families only owned two books, Poor Richard’s and the Good Book.
So please, dear reader, don’t deny Mr. Jefferson his due. But please don’t appropriate the achievements of the good Doctor and paste them onto Tom. Poor Richard’s Almanack was a Ben Franklin original, as Ben Franklin himself was the greatest American original.
Long may he wave.
DOCTOR???
Check AP Stylebook on use!!
Both were womanizers.
So where’s the broad?
Ha! But “Doctor” was the honorific bestowed on Ben Franklin and universally used by his peers as a sign of respect, so Doctor Franklin it shall remain, on this blog at least. Old Ben liked women, and his opponents constantly threw this in his face, but there’s no actual record of his womanizing. Plenty of verbal innuendo but no proof of going from words to deeds, believe it or not. (Much to his disappointment in at least one well-documented case!) Sally Hemings’ numerous offspring might argue for a different outcome in Jefferson’s case, but as far as I can tell, she was his only mistress, so I’d say “hypocrite” rather than “womanizer” applies in his case.