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Stavros
01-17-2014, 06:06 PM
Benjamin Franklin was born in Milk Street in Boston 309 years ago today -January 17th 1706; he was also, at 70, the oldest of the Founding Fathers most of whom were barely half his age in 1776 -
Washington was 44
Madison was 25
Jefferson was 33
Jay was 31
Hamilton was 21 (some might say 19 -he was killed in a duel)
Adams was 41

A snippet on Franklin:

January 17, 1706, Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, Kingdom of England – A son is born to a soap maker and his wife on Milk Street , the financial district of the largest city in British North America. One of ten siblings, he would become apprenticed to his older brother and begin to write for the The New-England Courant under the pseudonym Silence Dogood at the age of 15. By the age of 23, he would own the most successful newspaper in the Colonies and his Poor Richard's Almanack would become a cornerstone of American vernacular and aphorism. His name was Benjamin Franklin, and in later life he would be credited as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and immortalised on her most expensive banknote.

But it is not Franklin the author, satirist, politician, musician, statesman or diplomat that we are particularly interested in here. It’s Franklin the scientist and inventor that tickles the fancy at OGIQ. As one of the primary figures of the American Enlightenment he changed the history of physics with his experiments into the nature of electricity, inventing the lightning rod in the process. And where would we be in the contemporary oil and gas industry without either of those?
Oil & Gas IQ Newsletter Jan 17 2014

EZWind
01-17-2014, 06:12 PM
If I had a time machine, he is definitely one o the top historical figures I'd like to meet. My favorite quote of his: "Beer is proof that God wants us to have fun"

Prospero
01-17-2014, 07:52 PM
It is also Muhammed Ali's birthday he is 72

Ben in LA
01-17-2014, 09:44 PM
What was he smoking to go decide to fly a kite in a thunderstorm?

buttslinger
01-17-2014, 09:50 PM
Ben would make some of the HEATHENS here blush......

In England, Franklin joined a rakish political group founded by Sir Francis Dashwood (member of Parliament, advisor to King George III) called the Monks of Medmenham Abbey, otherwise known as the Hellfire Club. This 18th century group is described as follows:
"The Hellfire Club was an exclusive, English club that met sporadically during the mid 18th century. Its purpose, at best, was to mock traditional religion and conduct orgies. At worst, it involved the indulgence of satanic rites and sacrifices. The club to which Franklin belonged was established by Francis Dashwood, a member of Parliament and friend of Franklin. Parties with prostitutes were also said to be the norm." (Source: Ben Franklin and His Membership in the Hellfire Club: Founding Father or Satanic Killer? as published by the Associated Content Society)

sukumvit boy
01-19-2014, 10:05 PM
One of my favorite presidents. A man of science , statesman and bon vivant.

nevada64
01-19-2014, 10:15 PM
He was never a president, but a cool cat.