Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

NAME Frederick II von Hohenstaufen. He held numerous titles, including King of Sicily (as Frederick I), King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Jerusalem.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Frederick II is one of the most compelling and controversial figures of the Middle Ages. He was known to his contemporaries as Stupor Mundi ("The Wonder of the World") for his immense cultural and intellectual curiosity, his political ambition, and his extraordinary talents. He was famous for his decades-long power struggle with the Papacy, his patronage of arts and sciences, his success in the Sixth Crusade where he took control of Jerusalem through diplomacy rather than bloodshed, and for authoring the Constitutions of Melfi, a groundbreaking legal code for his Kingdom of Sicily.

BIRTH Frederick II was born in Jesi, near Ancona, Italy, on December 26, 1194.His mother Constance was around 40 years old at the time of his birth—a notably advanced age for childbirth in the 12th century. Opponents of Frederick spread stories that he was not truly her son, but rather the child of a local commoner, such as a butcher or miller.

In response to these rumours, later chroniclers and legends claimed that Constance gave birth in a pavilion tent set up in the market square of Jesi, inviting local matrons to witness the birth to dispel any doubts about her maternity. Some versions add that she later returned to the square to breastfeed the infant publicly. However, historians agree that these stories emerged after the fact, in rebuttal to the persistent allegations about Frederick's parentage, and are not supported by contemporary records.

The birth of Frederick II

Constance did take unusual measures to affirm Frederick's legitimacy, such as swearing on the gospels before a papal legate.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Frederick was born into the House of Hohenstaufen and was the grandson of emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. His father was Emperor Henry VI, and his mother was Constance Hauteville, who was the daughter of Roger II of Sicily . 

At birth, his mother, Constance, named him Constantine, a masculine form of her name to identify him closely with both his Norman heritage and his imperial heritage through Constantine the Great . He was only given his grandfathers' names, becoming Frederick Roger (or Roger Frederick), at his baptism when he was two years old.

CHILDHOOD Frederick's childhood was turbulent as he passed through the hands of a collection of self-serving, scheming regents while the Sicilian nobility grabbed much of the royal demesne and wealth. Some chroniclers report that the young king was so destitute that he had to seek shelter among the citizens of Palermo. 

Upon Constance's death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Frederick's guardian. Frederick's tutor during this period was Cencio, who would become Pope Honorius III. Markward of Annweiler, with the support of Henry's brother, Philip of Swabia, reclaimed the regency and soon after invaded the Kingdom of Sicily. Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia, until, in 1208, he was declared of age. Growing in Sicily was certainly a very important thing for Frederick, because he grew more Sicilian than German.

EDUCATION Frederick received a multifaceted and complete education, which did not only focus on legal and administrative issues, but which also touched on the arts and writing. By the time he was declared of age in 1208, he spoke five languages: Greek, Arabic, Latin, Provençal and Sicilian. 

Frederick was an avid reader and passionately interested in nature and the study of the universe from his younger years. Some reports have him freely wandering the streets of cosmopolitan Palermo, talking and arguing with all manner of people, and always devouring knowledge. He was raised in a cultivated and multi-ethnical environment, which made him polyglot, used to multi-ethnicity, refined, educated and above all absolutist, as the Norman Kings.

CAREER RECORD

 1198: Crowned King of Sicily.

1212: Travels to Germany and is elected King of the Germans by a faction of princes opposing Otto IV.

1215: Crowned King of the Germans at Aachen.

1220: Crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Honorius III.

1225: Becomes King of Jerusalem through his marriage to Isabella II.

1228-1229: Leads the Sixth Crusade, successfully negotiating the handover of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth.

1231: Issues the Constitutions of Melfi (also known as Liber Augustalis), a comprehensive legal code that centralised power in his Kingdom of Sicily.

1227-1250: Engaged in a near-continuous political and military struggle with the Papacy (under Popes Gregory IX and Innocent IV) and the pro-papal Guelph communes of Northern Italy. He was excommunicated multiple times.

APPEARANCE Frederick was said to be "ruddy, with a bald head and shortsighted eyes," a description attributed to the Arab chronicler Sibt ibn al-Jawzi. He had the red-blonde hair of his Hohenstaufen ancestors. 

Some sources, including contemporary rivals, described him as short. Otto IV, his political adversary, claimed that Frederick was extremely small, perhaps even a dwarf, and thus unfit to rule. While this may have been political slander, physical evidence suggests Frederick was indeed shorter than average, possibly around 1.66 meters (5 foot 4 inches), similar to his son Henry. (1)

Frederick II and his falcon. From his book De arte venandi cum avibus (

FASHION  Frederick often defied conventional European courtly dress. Influenced by his Sicilian upbringing, he frequently adopted the luxurious, flowing silk robes typical of Saracen or Byzantine rulers, a habit that further fueled rumours of his un-Christian tendencies among his enemies.

In 1221, Frederick decreed that Jews must be distinguished from Christians by their clothes and their appearance, thus conforming to the decisions of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). The Jews of Sicily were ordered to wear blue coats over their clothes and grow beards, and the women to wear a blue stripe on their cloaks and head covering to distinguish them from the Christians . However, there is no evidence that these strictures were actually enforced. (2)

CHARACTER Frederick possessed a complex and formidable personality. He was intellectually brilliant, insatiably curious, pragmatic, and a gifted diplomat. He was also seen as autocratic, proud, and capable of extreme cruelty and vindictiveness towards his enemies. He was a rationalist and a skeptic who valued empirical evidence and observation, which set him apart from the more dogmatic worldview of his era.

SPEAKING VOICE Frederick was known for his remarkable linguistic abilities, speaking six languages: Latin, Sicilian, Middle High German, Old French, Greek, and Arabic . He was described as freely wandering the streets of cosmopolitan Palermo, talking and arguing with all manner of people .

SENSE OF HUMOUR Frederick was known for his sharp, intellectual, and often cynical wit. He enjoyed riddles and scholarly debates. One famous anecdote comes from his dealings with the papacy. When Pope Gregory IX excommunicated him and called him the "Antichrist," Frederick reportedly quipped that if the pope had truly believed this, he would have fled rather than simply excommunicate him. This sharp retort demonstrates Frederick's ability to use irony and logic to undermine his opponents' accusations, reflecting both his intellectual agility and his penchant for clever, biting humor.

RELATIONSHIPS Frederick II was married three times. His first wife was Constance of Aragon, a 25-year-old widow and daughter of the King of Aragon, whom he married at the age of 14 under the arrangement of his guardian, Pope Innocent III. Though young, the match proved politically useful—Constance arrived with a contingent of knights that helped Frederick secure control of Sicily. The couple appeared to have a reasonably content marriage, and Constance gave birth to a son, Henry.

Three years after Constance’s death, in 1225, Frederick married 16-year-old Yolande of Jerusalem (also known as Isabella II), daughter of King John of Brienne. The marriage was timed with Frederick’s plans for a crusade, and he quickly maneuvered to sideline his new father-in-law and assert control over the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Although Yolande died in 1228, shortly after giving birth to their son Conrad, Frederick claimed the title of King of Jerusalem and was crowned in 1229—despite the technicality that his wife, the kingdom’s actual heiress, had already passed away. Their son, Conrad IV, would later be elected King of the Germans in 1237.

In 1235, Frederick married for the third time—this time to 22-year-old Isabella of England, daughter of King John of England. The wedding was a grand affair at Worms Cathedral on July 15 or 20, 1235. The marriage brought prestige but little long-term impact; Isabella died six years later.

Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress

Despite his imperial title, Frederick was far from ascetic. He maintained a travelling harem and an unconventional court, earning him a reputation that was, at times, more flamboyant than holy.

There is some evidence and legend, there was one woman he truly loved: Bianca Lancia. Bianca and Emperor Frederick are believed to have met around 1225 while he was travelling around Italy. Bianca is usually regarded as Frederick's favourite mistress  According to chroniclers, Frederick and Bianca only married when she was dying. 

Bianca was the mother of his favourite son, Manfred. He had numerous illegitimate children who often played key roles in his administration

MONEY AND FAME Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy . He instituted measures designed to bring trade under state control and make the manufacture of certain products the monopoly of the state . He had enlarged the harbours of his kingdom and established a navy and a fleet of merchant vessels .

In 1231, he introduced the augustalis, a high-purity gold coin that was the first of its kind to be widely circulated in Europe since the fall of Rome. It served as both a powerful piece of imperial propaganda and a stable currency. 

Frederick enjoyed a reputation as a brilliant Renaissance man and polymath . His reputation as a driven and energetic monarch spread, adding to his already semi-legendary status .

FOOD AND DRINK His court was known for its sophisticated dining, blending European traditions with the rich culinary influences of the Arab and Byzantine world present in Sicily. He was reportedly moderate in his habits, valuing quality and refinement over gluttony.

MUSIC AND ARTS Frederick was an avid patron of science and the arts. He played a major role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry . His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo, beginning around 1220, was the cultural and intellectual hub of the early 13th century. 

The Court of Emperor Frederick II in Palermo by Arthur von Ramberg. Wikipedia

Frederick hosted numerous artists in his court and was an attentive and generous patron.

He was also a prolific builder, commissioning castles, palaces, and hunting lodges in a unique style that blended Roman, Gothic, and Islamic architectural elements.

LITERATURE Frederick was a writer himself and contributed substantially to Italian literature through the establishment of the Sicilian School of Poetry. His circle included perhaps 30 men, most of them Sicilians, with added groups of Tuscans and southern Italians. The school and its poetry were saluted by Dante and his peers and predate by at least a century the use of the Tuscan idiom as the elite literary language of Italy. About 125 poems are extant from Frederick's poets, all in Sicilian dialect . 

The invention of the sonnet is usually attributed to Giacomo da Lentini, one of Frederick's court poets . (3)

NATURE Frederick was passionately interested in nature and the study of the universe from his younger years . He was especially interested in astronomy, astrology, geography, zoology, medicine, and human anatomy. 

In 1231, Frederick brought a menagerie of animals unknown to most Italians including elephants, dromedaries, camels, panthers, gerfalcons, lions, leopards, white falcons, and bearded owl .

Frederick II wrote De Arte Venandi cum Avibus ("On the Art of Hunting with Birds"), a comprehensive treatise on falconry and ornithology, in the 1240s. The work is celebrated for its scientific approach and detailed personal observations. It was the first treatise on falconry.

An image from an old copy of De arte venandi cum avibus

PETS Frederick loved exotic animals in general: his menagerie, with which he impressed the cities of Northern Italy and Europe, included elephants, dromedaries, camels, panthers, gerfalcons, lions, leopards, white falcons, and bearded owl .

There is no question that Emperor Frederick II valued gyrfalcons for use in falconry more highly than all other kinds of falcons.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Falconry was Frederick's all-consuming passion, which he treated as both a sport and a science. He also enjoyed chess and intellectual debates with the scholars, philosophers, and mathematicians he gathered at his court.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Frederick was a great patron of science. He founded the University of Naples in 1224, the first state-funded public university, to train secular administrators for his kingdom. He corresponded with leading scholars across the Mediterranean, such as Leonardo Fibonacci, who introduced Arabic numerals to Europe. He encouraged public dissections and scientific experimentation.

Frederick enjoyed experimenting, though at times they were on the macabre side. They are most famously recorded by the 13th-century Franciscan chronicler Salimbene de Adam, who really did not like Frederick II and had a vested interest in portraying him as arrogant, heretical, and cruel. According to Salimbene:

Frederick allegedly sealed several prisoners in an airtight room and waited for them to die, hoping to see their souls escape at the moment of death when he opened the door. Unsurprisingly (and morbidly), no soul was seen, but the story underscores Frederick’s fascination with natural philosophy, even if this particular experiment was grotesquely misguided.

He supposedly gave two men identical meals, then sent one to bed and the other on a strenuous hunt. He later had them both killed and dissected to determine whose food was better digested. The experiment was, disturbingly, a crude inquiry into human physiology.

These accounts, especially the dissection tale, are often cited to highlight Frederick's “scientific curiosity,” albeit one unencumbered by modern ethics. However, historians caution that while Frederick was unusually curious for his time—deeply interested in medicine, astronomy, and the natural sciences—Salimbene’s bitter tone and Franciscan bias likely exaggerated or even invented some details to make him appear monstrous.

Frederick was interested in mathematics, astronomy and astrology. Piero della Vigna remarked that Frederick had friars forming maps into globes, tracking the sun's course through the zodiac, squaring circles, and converting triangles into quadrilaterals. 

Frederick sent questions of astronomy and astrology to the sultans of the east, gaining two astronomers for his own court and a planetarium for his collection. 

Frederick made the connection between hygiene and the spread of disease, which was unknown at the time .

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Frederick II presided over one of the most intellectually vibrant courts of the Middle Ages, where Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars mingled freely in a spirit of academic curiosity. A true polymath and maverick, Frederick was also a religious sceptic—boldly unorthodox in an age of rigid faith. He viewed organized religion with suspicion and is said to have dismissed Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad alike as deceivers of mankind. His penchant for blasphemy and irreverent jokes scandalized his contemporaries and infuriated the Church.

His rocky relationship with Rome was legendary: he was excommunicated not once but three times. In a particularly bold gesture, on March 18, 1229, while still under excommunication, Frederick crowned himself King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This dramatic act marked both the zenith of his power and a shift in how he viewed his role. Prophecies began to swirl around him; Frederick encouraged comparisons to Christ and referred to himself as a new David—a messianic ruler destined to reshape the world.

Excommunication of Frederick by Pope Innocent IV

His irreverence extended even to his coronation attire. When he was crowned emperor, Frederick wore a gleaming red robe embroidered not with Latin prayers but with Arabic script. The inscription dated the garment to the Islamic year 528 and offered a lavish Arabic blessing: “May the Emperor be received well, may he enjoy vast prosperity, great generosity and high splendour… May his days and nights go in pleasure without end or change.” It was a striking symbol of his cultural openness—and his tendency to thumb his nose at convention.

In 1231, at Melfi, Frederick issued a sweeping legal code for the Kingdom of Sicily, the most ambitious attempt at state-building in Europe since the Byzantine emperor Justinian. His “Constitutions of Melfi” were a landmark in medieval governance, foreshadowing Enlightenment ideals of centralized power and rational lawmaking centuries before they took hold.

REIGN Frederick II of Hohenstaufen was, by any measure, one of the most improbable and fascinating rulers Europe ever managed to produce—which, considering the competition, is saying something. He was a medieval emperor who read Arabic poetry, argued with popes like a grumpy divorcee, and ran his Sicilian kingdom with the brisk efficiency of a man organizing a particularly large filing cabinet. He was excommunicated multiple times (twice, spectacularly, by the same pope), spoke six languages, launched a crusade while technically banned from the Church, and ruled from a court so dazzlingly multicultural that it made Renaissance Florence look like a village book club.

Frederick’s rise began with a classic medieval plot twist. Orphaned and barely out of nappies, he was crowned King of Sicily in 1198, a position he initially ruled with all the power of a child with a plastic crown—his regents mostly squabbled while the kingdom fell into polite chaos. But once grown, Frederick took charge with terrifying competence. As King of Germany in 1212 and Holy Roman Emperor by 1220, he began methodically restoring order, writing legal codes with the enthusiasm of a man assembling a particularly complicated IKEA wardrobe.

His Assizes of Capua (1220) and Constitutions of Melfi (1231) weren’t just laws—they were bureaucratic symphonies. Feudal barons were reined in, royal lands clawed back, and nobles could no longer marry or die without asking permission first. He built fortresses across Sicily like a man playing Risk on a caffeine binge, ensuring that if anyone misbehaved, there was always a handy garrison nearby to drop in for a corrective chat.

Frederick’s imperial dreams didn’t stop at Sicily. He wanted all of Italy, and a good chunk of Germany too, which naturally upset everyone else who had plans for those places—especially the pope, who by this point was developing a full-blown case of Frederick-related hypertension. Frederick clashed repeatedly with the Lombard League (a sort of medieval NATO of northern Italian cities), winning the Battle of Cortenuova in 1237, but failing to finish the job, as the cities inconveniently refused to stay conquered.

Meanwhile, the papacy was becoming increasingly unamused by Frederick’s refusal to launch a Crusade when asked, especially after he promised several times and then ghosted like a bad Tinder date. on September 29, 1227, Pope Gregory IX finally lost patience and excommunicated him. Frederick responded in typical fashion—by going on a Crusade anyway. The Sixth Crusade (1228–1229) saw him march to the Holy Land, not to fight, but to negotiate. He returned Jerusalem to Christian hands without spilling a drop of blood—an achievement that delighted diplomats and infuriated the pope in equal measure.

While Frederick made a hobby of annoying pontiffs, he also found time to turn his court in Palermo into the intellectual equivalent of a Renaissance fair 200 years early. There were scholars from Baghdad, poets from Provence, and scientists who knew how to dissect birds in three languages. He founded the University of Naples in 1224—not just to educate, but to train bureaucrats who could enforce all his delightful new laws. Think Hogwarts, but for lawyers.

The Sicilian School of poetry thrived under his patronage, producing verse that helped shape the modern Italian language. He read Arabic, translated Aristotle, and treated Muslims and Jews not as enemies but as people who might throw a really good dinner party. His tolerance was radical for its time—so much so that it made his Christian contemporaries deeply suspicious.

But not everything in Frederick’s world was wise verses and administrative nirvana. His final years were dominated by rebellions, betrayals, and endless squabbles with various popes, who seemed to regard him as equal parts heretic and houseguest who overstayed his welcome. His own son, Henry VII, revolted against him (a distinctly ungrateful move), and his Italian campaigns went sideways after the catastrophic Battle of Parma in 1248.

By the time Frederick died in 1250—possibly still grumbling about popes—the empire he had spent a lifetime shaping was already beginning to crack. The Hohenstaufen dynasty didn’t so much fall as quietly deflate, and the Holy Roman Empire descended into a century-long period of squabbling, disunity, and papal gloating.

Still, for one glittering moment, Frederick II made the medieval world look surprisingly modern. Or at least, impressively well-organized.

POLITICS Frederick’s political aim was to create a modern, centralised, and absolute monarchy, administered by a professional secular bureaucracy. The Constitutions of Melfi in Sicily were the cornerstone of this vision. His overarching imperial policy was focused on securing his hereditary lands in Sicily and asserting his imperial authority over the rebellious city-states of Northern Italy (the Lombard League) and the Papacy, which he saw as a rival temporal power.

SCANDAL Frederick's reign was rife with scandal, much of it amplified by papal propaganda. He was excommunicated three times. He was accused of blasphemy, heresy, and keeping a harem of Saracen women at his court in Lucera. The most notorious rumour concerned a language deprivation experiment, where he allegedly had infants raised in silence to discover what language they would naturally speak. The chronicler Salimbene di Adam claimed all the infants died, though the historicity of this event is highly debated.

MILITARY RECORD Frederick II’s military career was as unconventional as the man himself. His rise began with the pivotal Battle of Bouvines in 1214, where French king Philip II, allied with Frederick, defeated the reigning Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV. This decisive victory cleared the way for Frederick's eventual succession to the imperial throne.

By 1220, after vanquishing a rival claimant, Frederick was formally crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he preferred diplomacy over brute force—especially in his dealings with the Muslim world.

Nowhere was this more evident than during the Sixth Crusade (1228–1229). Although he had promised to join a crusade as early as 1215, Frederick delayed for over a decade. When he finally set sail, he confounded expectations: instead of waging holy war, he negotiated directly with Sultan al-Kamil of Egypt. The result was a remarkable treaty that peacefully returned Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth to Christian control—without a single battle. It was Frederick’s charisma and diplomatic finesse, not swords, that reclaimed the holy sites.

Frederick II (left) meets Al-Kamil (right). Nuova Cronica, c. 1348

The Pope, expecting a show of Christian military might, was furious. So much so that he called for a crusade against Frederick himself. The call, however, fell flat.

Beyond the Crusades, Frederick was frequently entangled in military struggles closer to home. He fought persistent wars to retain control over the Kingdom of Sicily, and waged a long campaign against the Lombard League, a coalition of defiant northern Italian cities. Complicating matters further, he faced internal rebellions—most notably from his own son, Henry VII, and various German princes who grew restless during his extended absences from Germany.

In all, Frederick’s military legacy was marked less by battlefield glory and more by political maneuvering, sharp strategy, and the sheer force of his formidable personality.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS  Frederick was notably ahead of his time in promoting hygiene—especially for his armies and during medical procedures. His insistence on a Sunday bath was outright scandalous for the time, showing his interest in hygiene and disease prevention . Frederick also paid careful attention to his own hygiene in terms of bloodletting. (4)

Frederick II was ill for some months before his death . Early in December 1250 a fierce attack of dysentery confined him to his hunting lodge of Castel Fiorentino in the south of Italy. 

HOMES Frederick is most famous for the numerous castles and hunting lodges he constructed throughout Apulia and Sicily.  In 1229, on his return from the Crusade, the Emperor initiated his vast program of defensive architecture, creating in eastern Sicily the most homogeneous group of "castri regia." The castles of Augusta, Syracuse and Milazzo were quickly built, together with the Castello Ursino in Catania. The castles of Enna, Terranova (Gela) and Scaletta Zanclea rose in central and western Sicily.  His castles had bounteous gardens full of pools and singing birds

The most iconic is the mysterious, perfectly octagonal Castel del Monte, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which stands as a masterpiece of medieval architecture.(5)

Castel Del Monte by ParisTaras Wikipedia

His magnificent Sicilian imperial-royal court in Palermo, beginning around 1220, was the cultural and intellectual hub of the early 13th century .

TRAVEL Unlike most Holy Roman emperors, Frederick spent little of his life in Germany. After his coronation in 1220, he remained either in the Kingdom of Sicily or on Crusade until 1236, when he made his last journey to Germany. (At this time, the Kingdom of Sicily, with its capital at Palermo, extended onto the Italian mainland to include most of southern Italy.) He returned to Italy in 1237 and stayed there for the remaining 13 years of his life, represented in Germany by his son Conrad.

DEATH Frederick II died on December 13, 1250, at Castel Fiorentino, Apulia, Kingdom of Sicily, aged 55, after suffering from a persistent attack of dysentery. In his final months, Frederick had withdrawn from active campaigning due to illness and spent much of his time in southern Italy. According to reports, he died peacefully, reportedly wearing the habit of a Cistercian monk. His death was sudden and shocked much of Europe, as he remained a towering figure until the end.

Frederick II was interred in the Cathedral of Palermo, Sicily. His tomb is a marble sarcophagus, and he rests alongside his parents, Henry VI and Constance, as well as his grandfather, Roger II of Sicily. The sarcophagus is made of red porphyry, a material reserved for imperial burials, emphasizing his status. When the tomb was opened in the 19th and 20th centuries for scientific study, Frederick’s body was found wrapped in red cloth, with a sword at his side.

Frederick’s death marked the end of the Hohenstaufen dynasty’s power in Europe, and his passing was met with both mourning and relief, depending on political allegiance. Legends later arose that Frederick was not truly dead but sleeping, awaiting a return to restore his empire—a myth that was eventually transferred to his grandfather, Frederick Barbarossa.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Frederick II has been the subject of modern media productions, including the 2019 German television documentary Friedrich II. - Der Staufer: Der ewige Kampf mit dem Papst (Frederick II - The Hohenstaufen: The Eternal Struggle with the Pope). The documentary portrays him as a patron of science, a reformer, and possibly the first modern ruler.

Frederick II has been the subject of numerous biographies. He appears in historical novels, such as Stupor Mundi by G. L. Baker. 

He is a playable leader in the Civilization video game series, reflecting his enduring legacy as a ruler of science and culture.

ACHIEVEMENTS Political: Created one of the first centralised, absolutist states in Europe through the Constitutions of Melfi (1231).

Diplomatic: Regained Jerusalem for Christendom through peaceful negotiation during the Sixth Crusade, a unique achievement.

Economic: Introduced the augustalis, a stable and high-quality gold currency that boosted the economy of his kingdom.

Cultural: His court fostered the Sicilian School of poetry, giving birth to the Italian literary language.

Educational: Founded the University of Naples (1224) as a secular institution of higher learning.

Scientific: Authored De Arte Venandi cum Avibus, a seminal work of observational science and ornithology, and was a major patron of science and mathematics.

Sources (1) History of the Germans Podcast (2) Encyclopedia.com (3) Encyclopedia Britannica (4) The Write-ly World of Andrea Cefalo (5) Travell Italy

Frederick Barbarossa

NAME Frederick I, commonly known as Frederick Barbarossa. His nickname "Barbarossa" is Italian for "red beard." In German, he is known as "Friedrich Rotbart."

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Frederick Barbarossa was a revered Holy Roman Emperor who reigned from 1155 until his death in 1190. He is celebrated for his efforts to restore the prestige and power of the Holy Roman Empire, his involvement in the Crusades, and his legendary status in German folklore (the Kyffhäuser legend). He sought to unify the disparate German states and assert imperial authority over the wealthy city-states of Lombardy in northern Italy.

BIRTH Frederick was born around December 1122, with sources indicating he was born circa 1123. Some sources place his birth specifically in December 1122. He was born at Waiblingen in Swabia, which is now in modern Germany.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Frederick came from noble lineage, being the son of Duke Frederick II of Swabia (Frederick "the One-Eyed"), and Judith, daughter of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria. His family connections were significant as he united the blood of two rival dynasties - the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen. His uncle was Conrad III, who served as his predecessor as German king. Through his mother, he was connected to the Guelph family, while his father represented the Hohenstaufen dynasty.

CHILDHOOD Frederick learned typical skills for German royalty of the Dark Ages, including riding, hunting, and weaponry. Frederick took part in at least four Hoftags (assemblies convened by princes) during his youth, including gatherings at Strasbourg (1141), Konstanz (1142), Ulm (1143), Würzburg (1144), and Worms (1145), which gave him vital political experience.

EDUCATION Several authoritative sources, including John Freed's biography Frederick Barbarossa: The Prince and the Myth, argue that Frederick was likely illiterate or at best only minimally literate. Freed repeatedly stresses Frederick’s illiteracy, noting that there is no evidence he could read or write, and suggesting he would have been unable to understand the Latin panegyrics written in his honor. Other scholars echo this view, pointing out that Frederick was not expected to inherit the throne and thus was not given the thorough education in Latin and letters reserved for those destined for ecclesiastical careers or unexpected heirs. Instead, his upbringing focused on military training, with only rudimentary reading and writing skills, if any. As emperor, he often relied on translators and interpreters for Latin, which was the language of administration and diplomacy in his realm.

However, some historians find it difficult to believe that a ruler in constant contact with clerics, jurists, and poets would remain entirely ignorant of Latin, especially over a reign spanning nearly four decades. While there is consensus that Frederick was not fluent in Latin, it is possible he acquired some proficiency out of necessity during his reign, particularly in understanding spoken Latin or basic written phrases, though there is no direct evidence he achieved full literacy

CAREER RECORD 1147: Accompanied his uncle, King Conrad III, on the Second Crusade.

1152: Elected King of Germany at Frankfurt; crowned King of the Romans at Aachen.

1154-1155: First Italian campaign; helped Pope Adrian IV against the Roman Commune; crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome (1155).

1158-1162: Second Italian campaign; besieged and destroyed Milan; held the Diet of Roncaglia, where he asserted imperial rights (regalia).

1163-1164: Third Italian campaign (less successful).

1166-1168: Fourth Italian campaign, marked by a devastating plague that decimated his army; forced to retreat.

1174-1176: Fifth Italian campaign; suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Legnano against the Lombard League (1176).

1177: Signed the Treaty of Venice with Pope Alexander III and the Lombard cities, recognizing their liberties but affirming imperial suzerainty.

1180: Successfully suppressed the rebellion of his powerful cousin, Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, significantly strengthening imperial power in Germany.

1184: Held the magnificent Diet of Mainz, a grand celebration of imperial power.

1186: His son Henry VI married Constance, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily, significantly expanding Hohenstaufen influence in Italy.

1189-1190: Led the German contingent of the Third Crusade.

APPEARANCE Frederick's most distinctive feature was his red beard, which earned him his famous nickname. Sources describe him as having a majestic personal appearance. Contemporary accounts emphasize that his physical presence was commanding and contributed to his natural authority as a ruler.

Frederick Barbarossa as a crusader, miniature from a copy of the Historia Hierosolymitana, 1188

FASHION As an emperor, Frederick wore rich garments befitting his status, including luxurious fabrics, furs, and embroidered robes, often adorned with precious jewels. His crown and imperial regalia would have been central to his public image, symbolizing his divine right to rule. He was often depicted in armor when engaged in military campaigns.

CHARACTER Frederick possessed a complex personality that combined attractive kindliness with shrewd calculation. Though he had fits of uncontrolled passion at times, he was sufficiently master of himself to restrain his anger when necessary for political purposes. 

He was described as having a bold spirit with astonishing firmness in pursuing his aims. Frederick surprised contemporaries with the clearness and cleverness of his speech, rapid comprehension and decision-making, and well-reasoned, logical policy. He was naturally conservative and knew how to deal with existing political forces. (1)

SPEAKING VOICE Frederick spoke Middle High German, which was the language used during the medieval period. According to gaming community discussions about historical accuracy, his voice would have sounded to modern German speakers similar to how "ye olde English" sounds to contemporary English speakers.

SENSE OF HUMOUR  Frederick is generally depicted as a shrewd, calculating, and sometimes fiery-tempered ruler, known for his ambition, discipline, and formidable presence. There is little to suggest he was known for lightheartedness or overt humor in his public or private life.

RELATIONSHIPS Frederick's first marriage was to Adelheid of Vohburg, which took place sometime before March 1147 shortly before Frederick departed for the Second Crusade. Thes marriage was likely arranged in preparation for his crusading venture. The union was later annulled in 1153 on the grounds of consanguinity (they were fourth cousins, once removed). and it produced no children.

He then married Beatrice of Burgundy on June 9, 1156 in Würzburg, Germany. The wedding is famously commemorated in art, notably in frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in the Imperial Hall of the Würzburg Residenz. Beatrice was the daughter and heiress of Renaud III, Count of Burgundy. This marriage brought the County of Burgundy into Frederick's realm and produced  eleven children, though only five lived to adulthood: Henry (1165), Conrad (1167), Otto (1170), Conrad (1170), and Philip (1177). 

The Marriage of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Beatrice of Burgundy by Tiepolo

Frederick's relationship with his powerful cousin Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was complex and politically significant.

MONEY AND FAME As Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick controlled vast territories and resources across Central Europe. His reign coincided with increasing wealth in northern Italian cities through trade, representing a shift from medieval feudalism. Frederick created the Tafelgüterverzeichnis, a record of royal estates, demonstrating his systematic approach to managing imperial resources.

Frederick understood the importance of both money and fame in asserting imperial power. He sought to tap into the wealth of northern Italy to fund his ambitions. He also meticulously cultivated his public image, using grand diets and ceremonies to display his power and legendary status. His efforts to revive the "Roman" aspect of the Holy Roman Empire were also aimed at enhancing his prestige.

FOOD AND DRINK While there are no surviving records of Frederick Barbarossa's personal favorite dishes, his diet would have reflected the customs and abundance of the imperial court, with a strong emphasis on meat, dairy, bread, and traditional medieval drinks

MUSIC AND ARTS  Frederick's court was a center for medieval arts and culture. Minstrels, troubadours, and chroniclers performed and documented events and architectural projects, particularly churches and castles, were undertaken during his reign, reflecting the imperial aesthetic of the time.

LITERATURE While Frederick was illiterate and could not read, his court was a center for scholarly and literary activity, and his reign contributed significantly to Central European culture and the re-establishment of Roman law.

His life and reign became a subject of numerous contemporary chronicles and later legends, most notably the Kyffhäuser legend, which portrays him as a sleeping emperor awaiting his return to restore Germany's glory.

NATURE  Frederick was intimately familiar with the natural landscapes of Germany and Italy. Hunting, a common pastime for medieval nobility, connected him with nature.

PETS Hunting dogs and falcons were common among medieval nobility such as Frederick for sport and status.

Image by Perplexity

HOBBIES AND SPORTS From a young age, Frederick learned to ride, hunt, and master weaponry—skills essential for German royalty in the 12th century. Hunting was not only a pastime but also a demonstration of leadership and prowess.

SCIENCE AND MATHS  In the 12th century, "science" was largely intertwined with philosophy, theology, and practical arts. While Frederick was not a known scholar of pure science or mathematics, his interest in Roman law shows a rational and systematic approach to governance. Practical knowledge related to siege warfare, engineering, and logistics would have been important in his military campaigns.

REIGN Frederick Barbarossa, whose name rather grandly translates to “Red Beard” and whose presence on a battlefield must have resembled a particularly cross Viking with a diploma in statecraft, was elected King of Germany in 1152 and promptly declared Holy Roman Emperor three years later, because why stop at just one job title when you can have two? He ruled until 1190, a stretch of 38 years that he spent shaping Central Europe in ways that were occasionally brilliant, often exhausting, and generally quite noisy.

Frederick got off to a brisk start. After a bit of ceremonial pomp in Aachen (think coronation, Latin chanting, and possibly a fine lunch), he began the perennial medieval pastime of consolidating power, which mostly meant keeping your friends happy and your enemies either pacified or out of sight. He wisely cozied up to his cousin Henry the Lion, a man who, despite sounding like a children's book character, was actually one of the most powerful nobles in Germany. For twenty years, they got along famously—by medieval standards—until they didn’t (more on that later).

Frederick then busied himself trying to be the referee in the ongoing cage match that was German noble politics. He poked his imperial nose into Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, smoothing ruffled feathers and asserting authority, which is a polite way of saying he told them what to do and hoped they’d listen.

Now, Frederick had a particular fascination with Italy, as did most German emperors, because nothing says “legitimacy” quite like a shiny crown placed on your head by the pope in Rome. He marched south no fewer than six times—an astonishing feat considering the logistics involved, not to mention the unhelpful Alps in between.

His first trip in 1154 was reasonably successful: Milan bowed, Tortona got flattened (you can almost hear the sighs from the town council), and he came home with the imperial crown courtesy of Pope Adrian IV. That should have been the start of a beautiful friendship. It wasn’t.

Very quickly, Frederick and the papacy fell into one of those splendid medieval spats over who got to boss whom. This was not helped by Frederick supporting a string of “antipopes” (the ecclesiastical equivalent of backing the other guy in an election) and getting excommunicated for his troubles. He eventually made peace with Pope Alexander III—but only after some military misadventures reminded him that maybe diplomacy was worth a go.

The Lombard cities in northern Italy, who had grown rather fond of their independence and their profits, formed the Lombard League, an alliance of sturdy burghers who were less than thrilled by Frederick’s imperial meddling. The emperor initially had some success (the Battle of Monte Porzio in 1167, for instance), but things took a sour turn at the Battle of Legnano in 1176. There, the Lombards gave Frederick a firm and painful reminder that city militias could be surprisingly effective when sufficiently irritated.

The result was the Peace of Venice in 1177, in which Frederick graciously recognized the independence of the Lombard League and the legitimacy of Pope Alexander—essentially admitting that all that marching around Italy hadn’t quite gone to plan.

Back in Germany, Frederick was less interested in centralization than in practical solutions. While monarchs in France and England were busy building centralized kingdoms, Frederick preferred to spread power around like confetti at a particularly rowdy wedding. He handed out privileges to noble families like the Babenbergs in Austria and tried to keep the peace by acting as imperial umpire among the constantly squabbling nobles.

His old pal Henry the Lion, alas, eventually overstepped. When Henry demanded the city of Goslar—rich in silver and imperial symbolism—Frederick finally lost patience. He hauled Henry into court, stripped him of his lands in 1180, and scattered them to more agreeable nobles. Medieval politics were not for the faint of heart.

In 1189, Frederick, now in his late sixties (an age when most medieval men were comfortably dead), decided to lead the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. And not just lead it—organize it into one of the most disciplined and sizable armies of the era. They marched across Europe, through Hungary and the Balkans, across Anatolia, and even notched a few solid victories at Philomelium and Iconium.

And then, just as things were looking promising, he drowned in a river. The Saleph, in modern-day Turkey, was no great torrent—more of a glorified stream, really—but the emperor managed to fall in and die, bringing his long and occasionally glorious career to a sudden and undignified end. His army, now demoralized and leaderless, promptly fell apart.

Frederick Barbarossa became the stuff of German legend—a kind of medieval King Arthur who, rather than dying completely, is said to be asleep in a mountain, waiting for Germany’s time of need (presumably with a very long beard indeed). In practical terms, his death ushered in a period of fragmentation in the empire. But his legacy—of balancing brute strength with cunning diplomacy, of wrestling with popes and mayors, of endlessly marching up and down Europe—left an indelible mark.

He was, in short, a man who tried to make sense of an empire that rarely did. And for nearly 40 years, he almost managed it.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Frederick Barbarossa’s philosophy was deeply rooted in the concept of imperial authority as divinely sanctioned. He asserted that his right to rule came directly from God, not from the pope or any other ecclesiastical intermediary. In disputes with the papacy, especially with Pope Hadrian IV, Frederick maintained that the emperor’s authority was a beneficium (a divine gift) received from God alone, and not a fief granted by the pope. He emphasized that his election by the German princes and his anointing at Aachen gave him a unique, sacred status in Christendom, uniting German tradition with the holy nature of the empire.

Frederick was instrumental in reviving the Justinian code (Corpus Juris Civilis), using it to justify his imperial ambitions and to counterbalance papal power. Roman law provided a rational, secular foundation for imperial authority, serving as a counterweight to the Church’s claims of supremacy based on divine revelation. Frederick saw himself as a new Roman emperor, responsible for restoring peace, justice, and order in the empire—especially in Italy, where he sought to reassert imperial rights over the increasingly independent Lombard cities.

Frederick’s theological stance was marked by persistent conflict with the papacy. He supported antipopes against Alexander III and was excommunicated for his efforts to assert imperial independence in ecclesiastical matters. Frederick’s vision was reminiscent of caesaropapism: he believed the emperor should have a dominant role over the church, similar to the ancient Roman emperors. Despite these conflicts, he ultimately recognized Alexander III as pope in the Peace of Venice (1177), but only after years of military and diplomatic struggle.

Frederick’s reign saw a renewed emphasis on the “holiness” of the empire (sacrum imperium). He and his chancellor, Rainald of Dassel, promoted symbols and ceremonies that underscored the sacred character of imperial rule, such as the canonization of Charlemagne and the commissioning of religious art like the Barbarossa Chandelier. These actions were intended to reinforce the emperor’s legitimacy and the unity of the German realm, drawing upon both Christian and classical traditions.

Frederick often justified his actions—especially his campaigns in Italy—as divinely mandated efforts to restore justice and concord. He presented himself as the agent of providential order, obligated to enforce peace and the common good, even when it meant imposing imperial authority over rebellious cities

Frederick's relationship with theology was primarily political rather than scholarly. His conflicts with multiple popes and his support for antipopes demonstrate his willingness to challenge ecclesiastical authority. He took Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as his ideal of a German emperor. His crusading activities reflected the religious expectations of his time.

POLITICS Frederick's political philosophy centered on restoring imperial authority and German unity. He believed in the supremacy of the empire over the papacy and worked to consolidate power among German princes. Unlike Henry II of England, Frederick attempted to restore rather than end medieval feudalism. He dealt with princes by finding mutual self-interest and made strategic concessions when necessary.

SCANDAL Frederick's support for antipopes against Alexander III led to his excommunication in 1160. His conflicts with the papacy created ongoing controversy throughout his reign. The annulment of his first marriage on grounds of consanguinity also represented a significant personal and political matter.

MILITARY RECORD Frederick's military career was extensive but mixed in success. He distinguished himself during the Second Crusade as a military leader. 

As emperor, Frederick undertook six major expeditions into Italy. His notable victories included the Battle of Monte Porzio against the Romans in 1167. However, he suffered a crucial defeat at the Battle of Legnano on May 29, 1176, where he was wounded and believed dead for a time. This defeat marked a turning point in his imperial ambitions.  Below shows the soldiers of the Lombard League seeking in vain the dead body of Frederick Barbarossa 

Illustration by A.C. Michael Marshall, Henrietta Elizabeth (1913). A History of Germany. 

 His final military campaign was the Third Crusade, where he successfully led a large German army through difficult terrain and hostile territories in Anatolia, securing crucial victories, demonstrating his continued military leadership even in his old age. His death during the Crusade was a major blow to the expedition.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Frederick was known for his robust health and physical vigor, which allowed him to lead numerous military campaigns well into his sixties. 

HOMES As a medieval monarch, Frederick did not have a single fixed "home" but resided in various imperial palaces (Pfalzen) and castles across Germany and Italy. These included:

Kaiserswerth: An imperial castle on the Rhine. It became legendary as the place where folklore claimed he was sleeping and would return.

Gelnhausen: One of his favored imperial palaces.

Speyer: The burial place of many Salian emperors, important for imperial ceremonies.

Numerous castles and temporary residences across his vast domain as he traveled to administer justice, hold diets, and conduct campaigns.

TRAVEL Frederick's reign involved extensive travel throughout his empire and beyond. He made six expeditions to Italy and traveled extensively within German territories. His final journey was the Third Crusade, which took him through Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and into Byzantine territory before reaching Anatolia.

DEATH Frederick Barbarossa died on June 10, 1190, while on the Third Crusade. He drowned in the Saleph River (modern-day Göksu River) near Seleucia in the Kingdom of Armenia (now near Silifke, Turkey). Contemporary accounts describe him entering the river to bathe during great heat. His death caused several thousand German soldiers to leave the crusading force and return home. 

To preserve his remains, Frederick's body was reportedly boiled to separate the flesh from the bones—a method known as mos Teutonicus. His flesh was interred in the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Antioch. His bones were sewn into a sack, with the intention of burying them in Jerusalem, but the crusaders never made it that far. Instead, his bones were ultimately buried in the Cathedral of Tyre, and his heart and inner organs were buried in Saint Paul's Church, Tarsus.

The precise location of his remains is still debated, as later expeditions to Tyre failed to find his bones, and the cathedral itself was destroyed in later centuries.

Despite the lack of a traditional funeral, Frederick's death quickly became the stuff of legend. In Germany, he was memorialized as a national hero, and monuments such as the Kyffhäuser memorial kept his memory alive. Myths arose that he was merely sleeping in a mountain, waiting to return and restore German greatness. 

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Frederick Barbarossa's legend has appeared in various forms of media over the centuries. His story has been romanticized in 19th and early 20th-century literature and political symbolism. The Nazi movement appropriated his name for Operation Barbarossa during World War II. 

In modern gaming, he appears as a leader in the Civilization video game series, where he speaks Middle High German.

Numerous statues and monuments in Germany commemorate him, notably the Kyffhäuser Monument.

ACHIEVEMENTS Restoration of Imperial Prestige: Successfully revitalized the Holy Roman Empire's power and influence in Germany.

Suppression of Henry the Lion: Decisively broke the power of the most formidable German duke, solidifying imperial authority within Germany.

Administrative Reforms: Implemented administrative and legal reforms, drawing on Roman law, to strengthen central imperial control.

Treaty of Venice (1177): Despite the military defeat at Legnano, he achieved a diplomatic settlement with the Papacy and Lombard cities, affirming imperial suzerainty while granting autonomy. This demonstrated his pragmatism.

Marriage Alliance with Sicily: Secured the marriage of his son Henry VI to Constance of Sicily, which ultimately led to the Hohenstaufen control of the wealthy Kingdom of Sicily, significantly enhancing imperial power in the south.

Leadership of the Third Crusade: Despite his death, his leadership of the German contingent was a major undertaking and demonstrated his commitment to Christendom.

Source (1) Catholic Answers 

Benjamin Franklin

NAME Benjamin Franklin

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Franklin is celebrated as a Founding Father, co-author of the Declaration of Independence, and pioneering electrical researcher whose lightning rod revolutionized safety. His diplomatic prowess secured French support during the American Revolution, while aphorisms from Poor Richard’s Almanack codified practical wisdom for generations.

BIRTH Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] in Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was born into what would become a large family during the early colonial period of American history.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Benjamin Franklin was the 10th of 17 children born to his father, Josiah Franklin, and the 8th of 10 children born to Josiah's second wife, Abiah Folger. His father, Josiah, was a candlemaker and soap maker who had emigrated from Ecton, Northamptonshire, England, in 1683. His mother, Abiah Folger, was the daughter of Peter Folger, one of the first settlers of Nantucket and a prominent Puritan figure. The family was industrious but of modest means.

CHILDHOOD Franklin's childhood in Boston was characterized by a strong work ethic and early exposure to his father's trade. He learned candlemaking and soapmaking, but quickly showed an aversion to it. He was a prodigious reader from a young age, often staying up late to read books he borrowed or purchased

At age 12, he was apprenticed to his brother, a local printer. While working at his brother's printing shop, Franklin secretly wrote articles for the newspaper and labeled them as being by "Mrs. Silence Dogood". He quarreled with his brother and at age 17 ran away to Philadelphia.

EDUCATION Benjamin Franklin learned to read early and began formal schooling at age eight. He attended South Grammar School and later George Brownell’s English school, where he excelled in reading and writing but struggled with arithmetic. By age ten, his formal education ended, and he joined his father's business, continuing his learning through self-education using his father's library.

As a boy, he taught himself geography by studying maps during his father's prayer time. Later, while working for his half-brother James, Benjamin studied arithmetic, grammar, and navigation in the evenings. To improve his writing, he copied essays from The Spectator, summarizing them, setting the notes aside, and then trying to rewrite them. Comparing his versions with the originals helped him realize the need to expand his vocabulary. 

His intellectual curiosity was boundless, leading him to pursue knowledge in various fields independently. (1)

CAREER RECORD Franklin's career was extraordinarily diverse. 

1718-1723: Worked for his brother James's printing shop in Boston.

1723-1748: Ran away to Philadelphia, worked for various printers, then established his own successful printing business.

1729-1748: Publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette: Took over and greatly expanded the newspaper.

1732- 1758: Author of Poor Richard's Almanack: Published annually, known for its proverbs and wit.

1737-1753: Postmaster of Philadelphia: Appointed by the British Crown.

1753-1774: Joint Postmaster General for British North America: Significantly improved the colonial postal service.

1757-1762, 1764-1775: Colonial Agent in London: Represented Pennsylvania, and later other colonies, to the British government.

1775-1776: Delegate to the Second Continental Congress: Played a key role in drafting the Declaration of Independence.

1776-1785: Ambassador to France: Secured crucial French military and financial aid during the Revolutionary War, negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783).

1785-1788: President of Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council: Equivalent to governor.

1787: Delegate to the Constitutional Convention : Though ailing, provided crucial counsel and promoted compromise in drafting the U.S. Constitution.

APPEARANCE  The exact measurement of Benjamin Franklin's height is approximately 5'9" or 1.75 meters, which placed him somewhat above his contemporaries as the average American male stood at around 5'6" during the late 1700s. In his later years, he reached a weight of 220 pounds (100 kilograms), likely due to indulging in fine cuisine and developing a palate for alcohol during his international experiences. 

Benjamin Franklin has been described as a stout man with broad shoulders, known to have a round puffy face and a massive balding head. He had long, curly light brown hair that he liked to tie in a bun and maintained a clean-shaven appearance. He was also known for his square hands, twinkly gray eyes, and a pointed upper lip. (2)

Benjamin Franklin c 1785 by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis - 

FASHION From a very young age, Benjamin Franklin understood that appearance was the basis on which people judged each other. He usually dressed modestly, foregoing the powdered wigs and ruffled shirts of his peers for unstyled hair and coarse, homespun suits. When appearing before Louis XV in 1767, however, he knew his signature plain dress would not do, and called upon a tailor and a wigmaker to dress him appropriately. 

During his diplomatic mission in France, he strategically adopted a fur cap from the American wilderness to captivate Parisian society.

 A three-piece silk suit that belonged to Franklin, originally a dark plum color but now faded to brownish, is thought to have been made in France around 1778. This plain suit would have created a stark contrast between Franklin and those in the elaborate dress typical of the opulent French Court.

Benjamin Franklin wore spectacles, a necessity that led to one of his most practical inventions: bifocals. 

CHARACTER Franklin possessed a complex and multifaceted character. He was incredibly industrious, pragmatic, and self-disciplined, as evidenced by his methodical approach to self-improvement. He was also highly intelligent, curious, and witty, with a knack for observation and a practical approach to problem-solving. He was a master of diplomacy and compromise, often using humor and reason to bridge divides. Despite his many accomplishments, he projected an image of humility and common sense. He was also a shrewd businessman and a deeply civic-minded individual.

SPEAKING VOICE Franklin had a clear, persuasive, and engaging speaking voice. He was known for his conversational style rather than oratorical flourishes. His arguments were often delivered with a blend of logic, wit, and relatable anecdotes, making him a highly effective debater and communicator, both in small groups and public forums.

SENSE OF HUMOUR  Franklin possessed an extraordinary sense of humor and was known for his wit and satirical writing. His humorous works included Apology for Printers (1731), where he defended printers with a wink and a chuckle. He created The Drinker's Dictionary (1737) with more than 200 hilarious synonyms for "drunk," including terms like "half-way to Concord" and "foxed". His satirical piece Fart Proudly (1781) served up flatulence wisdom with hilarity, suggesting various methods for reducing gas. 

Franklin also published satirical works like Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One and Edict by the King of Prussia, both criticizing British attitudes toward the colonies.

 “Teach your child to hold his tongue. He will learn fast enough to speak.” – Poor Richard’s Almanack

 “He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals.” - Poor Richard’s Almanack

“Here Skugg lies snug. As a bug in a rug.” – This line appears in a letter Franklin wrote in 1772. It’s one of the earliest known uses of the now-famous phrase “snug as a bug in a rug.” He coined it whimsically in reference to a pet squirrel named Skugg.

“But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” – This famous line appears in a letter Franklin wrote to French scientist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in 1789. It's one of Franklin’s most quoted maxims.

RELATIONSHIPS Franklin's romantic life was complex and well-documented.

When Franklin arrived in Philadelphia on a Sunday morning in October 1723, he was tired, hungry, and had only a few coins in his pocket. He recounted in his autobiography that he found a bakery, asked for three pennies' worth of bread, and received "three great Puffy Rolls." With one roll under each arm and eating the third, he walked up Market Street. As he passed the Read family's door, Deborah Read—his future wife—saw him and, as Franklin wrote, "thought I made, as I certainly did, a most awkward ridiculous appearance" due to his bedraggled state and the way he carried the bread.

A few weeks later, Franklin became a boarder in the Read household, and his relationship with Deborah began to develop from that point. They entered into a common-law marriage in 1730 because Deborah's first husband had disappeared, leaving her unable to legally remarry. Benjamin and Deborah went on to have two children: Francis Folger Franklin ("Frankie") who died from smallpox in 1736, and Sarah Franklin ("Sally"). 

Deborah Read Franklin Attributed to Benjamin Wilson 

Franklin also had a son, William Franklin, from a relationship with Philadelphia's "low women". 

During his travels, Franklin had relationships with several women, including Catherine "Caty" Ray, a twenty-three-year-old he met when he was forty-nine. 

In London, he lived with Margaret Stevenson, his sophisticated landlord, and developed a close relationship with her eighteen-year-old daughter Polly. 

In France, he was smitten with Madame Helvetius and proposed marriage to her in 1780, but she declined.

During his time in England, Franklin made friends with many prominent people, including the philosopher and economist Adam Smit and the chemist and clergyman Joseph Priestley.

BUSINESS CAREER By the age of ten, Benjamin Franklin was gainfully employed in the family business, which involved the thrilling task of cutting candle wicks and filling molds with molten tallow. It was every bit as delightful as it sounds. Unsurprisingly, young Ben quickly discovered that dipping wax for a living did not quite ignite his passions, and so he briefly apprenticed with a cutler—someone who makes knives—before shuffling back to the family trade, presumably only marginally more enthusiastic than before.

At twelve, Franklin was handed over to his older half-brother James, a printer of robust opinions and limited charm, to learn the trade. James soon launched The New-England Courant, a brash and rather impudent newspaper that was revolutionary for its time—it refused to grovel before authority, which was something of a novelty in colonial America. Young Ben delivered copies by day and, with remarkable cheek, wrote anonymous essays by night, slipping them under the door to be published under the name “Silence Dogood.” No one guessed it was him, which was deeply satisfying.

At seventeen, tiring of his brother’s temper and with a taste for adventure, Franklin ran away. He arrived in Philadelphia in October 1723, famously bedraggled and munching on a roll. He found work in a printing shop and, after a few months, was persuaded by Pennsylvania’s flamboyant and possibly delusional governor, Sir William Keith, to sail to London to acquire printing equipment—with the governor promising to provide letters of credit. The only snag was that the letters never materialized. Franklin arrived in London with no money, no equipment, and no particular plan.

Stranded but unfazed, he found work as a typesetter in a print shop near the Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, which was as good a place as any to bide one’s time, especially if you liked Gothic arches and ecclesiastical echoes.

He returned to Philadelphia in 1726 and took a job with a kindly merchant named Thomas Denham, working as a clerk and bookkeeper—jobs which, though useful, are unlikely to inspire great poetry. Two years later, Franklin partnered with a friend named Hugh Meredith to open a printing house. By 1730, he had bought Meredith out and was running The Pennsylvania Gazette, which he turned into one of the most successful papers in the colonies.

But even Franklin had his financial hiccups. In 1755, during the French and Indian War, he personally guaranteed the value of horses and wagons borrowed from Pennsylvania farmers to support General Braddock’s ill-fated expedition against Fort Duquesne. When the mission promptly collapsed in spectacular fashion, Franklin faced the cheery possibility of having to repay nearly $20,000 out of his own pocket—a ruinous sum at the time. Fortunately, the government eventually covered the loss, sparing Franklin bankruptcy and allowing him to resume being brilliant at everything.

MONEY AND FAME Franklin achieved considerable wealth through his printing and publishing ventures. He became wealthy publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack. By 1748, Franklin had made enough money to retire from business and concentrate on science and inventing. His success in business allowed him financial independence that enabled his later scientific and political pursuits. Franklin became prosperous and promoted public services in Philadelphia, including a library, a fire department, a hospital, an insurance company, and an academy that became the University of Pennsylvania.

"Remember that time is money." This phrase comes from Franklin’s 1748 essay Advice to a Young Tradesman. It's perhaps his most famous piece of practical business advice and is often quoted in time-management talks to this day.

Franklin was one of the most popular men during Europe's Age of Enlightenment and the most famous American in Europe. His portrait was to be seen everywhere in Paris, in store windows and in many private houses. His image appeared on medals, medallions, rings, watches, snuff boxes and bracelets. People paid for seats in windows to watch him ride past in his coach. His reputation was universal.  (3)

FOOD AND DRINK Franklin's dietary habits evolved significantly throughout his life. He maintained a health-conscious lifestyle in his youth, adhering to a moderate diet that included a period of strict vegetarianism. As he aged and traveled, particularly in Europe, Franklin's dietary habits shifted, leading to significant weight gain. (2)

Franklin created a recipe for milk punch that he shared with friend James Bowdoin in 1763, which included rum, brandy, milk, and vanilla extract. The recipe shares characteristics of two beverages—possets and syllabubs.

MUSIC AND ARTS Franklin had a keen appreciation for music and even invented his own musical instrument, the glass armonica, which achieved considerable popularity in Europe. He developed it in 1761 after seeing water-filled wine glasses played by Edward Delaval at Cambridge in England. Franklin worked with London glassblower Charles James to build one, and it had its world premiere in early 1762. In a letter to his friend Giambattista Beccaria, Franklin wrote: "The advantages of this instrument are, that its tones are incomparably sweet beyond those of any other; that they may be swelled and softened at pleasure by stronger or weaker pressures of the finger". In Franklin's treadle-operated version, 37 bowls were mounted horizontally on an iron spindle, and the sound was produced by touching the rims with water-moistened fingers. (4)

Franklin enjoyed playing instruments (though not a virtuoso) and was known to attend concerts. 

He also had an interest in architecture and design, evident in his own homes and civic improvements he championed. 

Franklin appreciated painting and portraiture, sitting for many famous artists throughout his life.

WRITING CAREER As a teenager, Benjamin Franklin began slipping satirical essays under the door of his older half-brother’s newspaper, The New England Courant, under the deliciously improbable pseudonym of Silence Dogood, a fictional middle-aged widow with a sharp tongue and a flair for societal commentary. It was a fine start to a lifelong habit of disguising brilliance as entertainment.

In 1732, always game for a challenge, Franklin launched The Philadelphia Zeitung, the first foreign-language newspaper in the British colonies — in German, no less. Unfortunately, the German-speaking population of Pennsylvania proved to be both large and better served elsewhere: four competing publications popped up almost overnight, and Franklin’s newspaper folded within the year, having proven mostly useful as a lesson in how fast a monopoly can vanish.

That same year, Franklin—just twenty-six years old and already exhausting—launched Poor Richard’s Almanack, a publication so wildly popular it came to rival the Bible in colonial households. Stuffed with aphorisms, weather predictions, household tips, moral exhortations, farming advice, and jokes, it was everything a growing colony could want. Franklin published it annually for twenty-five years, each edition prefaced by his alter ego, “Richard Saunders,” who was cheerfully opinionated and frequently wrong about the weather.

By the 1750s, Franklin had added yet another item to his résumé: political cartoonist. In 1754, he famously published a cartoon in the Pennsylvania Gazette depicting a severed snake, each piece labeled with the initials of a colony, accompanied by the caption: “Join, or Die” (see below). It was the first known political cartoon printed in an American newspaper and a rather efficient bit of persuasion in the run-up to revolution.

In 1758, having decided that enough was enough, Franklin wrote his final entry for the Almanack. He went out with a bang, printing what is now considered colonial America's most famous literary work: Father Abraham’s Sermon. This was essentially a stitched-together patchwork of his best proverbs delivered as a speech by a wise old gentleman named Father Abraham. Among the gems were: “There are no gains without pains” and, of course, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” which has been making teenagers everywhere groan ever since.

Franklin’s Autobiography, though never completed, is still widely considered the quintessential self-made man’s manual. Begun in 1771 and published posthumously in 1794, it became an immediate bestseller and has remained in print almost continuously ever since. It’s part life story, part how-to guide, and part national myth — and frankly, it’s hard to tell where one ends and the others begin.

Franklin in London, 1767. Painting by David Martin, 

LITERATURE He taught himself to write effectively and loved books and reading. As a child, one of his favorite books was The Art of Swimming by Melchisédec Thévenot, which he studied and practiced extensively.

Franklin, at the age of 21, established the colonies' first circulation library for all interested citizens. 

NATURE Franklin had a deep appreciation for nature and believed in its therapeutic benefits. He was known for his practice of taking "air baths," spending about an hour in the nude each morning while taking care of correspondence, believing these were healthy. (5)

He meticulously observed natural phenomena, from the behavior of lightning to ocean currents (mapping the Gulf Stream), and meteorological patterns. While not a naturalist in the modern sense, his scientific inquiries were often rooted in understanding the natural world to harness its principles for practical benefit.

PETS While Benjamin Franklin himself did not own a dog, his son William had a Newfoundland, and Benjamin became quite fond of his "grand-dog," often walking and spoiling him with treats. This dog accompanied Franklin during his time in France, and friends remarked on Franklin’s affection for the animal.

In a letter to his daughter Franklin said he wanted the Turkey not the Eagle to be the United States national symbol. He considered the Eagle to be "a bird of bad moral character as it lives by shaping and robbing." 

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Franklin was an avid swimmer and fitness enthusiast. As a child, Benjamin Franklin adored swimming in the Schuylkill River in colonial Philadelphia and taught himself how to swim when he was 8. He studied and practiced The Art of Swimming by Melchisédec Thévenot, adding his own techniques.

Franklin invented swim flippers, creating "two oval pallets, each about ten inches long, and six broad, with a hole for the thumb". He also fitted sandals to his feet for swimming. 

One day, while in London, Franklin jumped into the Thames and swam from Chelsea to Blackfriars (around 3.5 miles), performing water tricks along the way. 

Sir William Wyndham offered to pay him handsomely for swimming lessons for his sons and even offered to help Franklin open the first swim school in England, but Franklin declined because he was homesick for Philadelphia.

Franklin enjoyed playing chess and wrote an essay on the Morals of Chess.

INVENTIONS It was Franklin who gave us the first bifocals, which he designed because he was tired of constantly switching between reading and distance glasses while traveling. His solution was charmingly direct: he cut two pairs of spectacles in half and stitched them together into one gloriously practical contraption. He unveiled this life-improving invention on May 23, 1785 and promptly stopped tripping over things while reading.

He also devised one of the earliest versions of a wetsuit — essentially a floating leather sack — and even tinkered with primitive swim fins, which he strapped to his hands rather than his feet. 

Then there was the Franklin stove — a wood-burning metal fireplace that provided more warmth with less fuel and greatly reduced the odds of setting your house ablaze. June 11, 1742 is the commonly cited date for his invention.

A Franklin Stove

And remarkably, Franklin never patented or copyrighted a single invention. He believed that good ideas should be shared freely, like sunshine or conversation. To seek profit from them, he said, would only “sour one’s Temper and disturb one’s Quiet.” Which, like most things Franklin said, sounds like something we should all embroider on a pillow.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Benjamin Franklin, whose talents were so varied and immense it’s a wonder he ever had time to sleep, also happened to be a first-rate scientist and inventor. He was, in fact, one of the great minds in the history of physics — a distinction he somehow earned while also founding newspapers, inventing stoves, and, just for fun, revolutionizing the understanding of electricity.

Franklin also coined the term battery, not because he was feeling pugnacious, but because the linked capacitors he was experimenting with reminded him of a battery of cannons — all working together in synchronized, electrified harmony.

Of course, Franklin’s crowning scientific achievement was in capturing lightning — that capricious and terrifying force of nature — with nothing more than a kite, some string, and a metal key. The experiment was technically first carried out in France, but Franklin gave it the personal touch on a stormy day on June 10, 1752. He launched a kite from a Philadelphia field, waited for the heavens to comply, and watched as sparks danced from his key. It was a dangerous and frankly insane thing to do. Later imitators were not so lucky — at least two of them were promptly electrocuted. Franklin, for his part, lived on to invent the lightning rod and suggest we pin them to our roofs (and, briefly, to ladies’ hats — a short-lived fashion trend, thankfully).

From this research, he proposed that lightning and electricity were one and the same and introduced the terms positive and negative to describe electrical charges — a neat bit of labeling that would outlast his rather inaccurate assumption that current flowed in the opposite direction from what it actually does. Electrical engineers still draw it that way today, mainly out of respect, or possibly inertia.

Beyond electricity, Franklin also charted the Gulf Stream using a thermometer and a great deal of persistence during his eight crossings of the Atlantic. He realized that warm ocean currents flowed with purpose — something sailors had been vaguely aware of but hadn’t gotten around to mapping.

He also suggested, half-jokingly, that people should get up earlier in summer to make better use of daylight — the first flutter of an idea that would eventually become Daylight Saving Time, for which you may or may not wish to thank him.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY  Franklin's spiritual journey was complex and evolved significantly throughout his life. He believed in a god of his own creation and lived by the morals of his own choosing in his early years. In 1728, he wrote his Articles of Belief, proposing a great hierarchy of Gods that populated the universe. 

By 1732, Franklin recognized God's direct interference in human affairs and acknowledged the free will of man. 

A significant spiritual change occurred around 1735 when he began accepting the Bible as the inspired and authoritative Word of God. He wrote: "Christ by his Death and Sufferings has purchas'd for us those easy Terms and Conditions of our Acceptance with God, propos'd in the Gospel, to wit, Faith and Repentance". (6) 

Franklin believed in the power of prayer. During the Constitutional Convention — a famously hot, fractious, and un-air-conditioned affair — he stood up one day and suggested that the delegates begin each morning’s session with a prayer. “We need help,” was the subtext, “and divine intervention might be quicker than negotiation.”

And while Franklin admired reason, he also respected restraint. When his friend Thomas Paine was preparing to publish The Age of Reason — a passionate, if tactless, dismantling of organized religion — Franklin gently urged him to reconsider. “The world is bad enough with the Bible,” he told Paine. “What would it be like without it?”

Though he had once owned slaves, he came to regard the institution as morally repugnant. In 1775, he joined forces with the equally progressive Dr. Benjamin Rush to form the first American anti-slavery organization — the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes — an astonishingly forward-thinking endeavor for its time.

So complete was his change of perspective that Franklin added a clause to his will requiring that his daughter free her slave if she wanted to inherit anything. It was, in essence, an early example of what today we might call values-based estate planning.

After visiting a school for Black children — an experience arranged by a friend — Franklin wrote candidly that what many mistook for inherent ignorance was, in fact, the result of forced servitude, poor education, and a deliberately oppressive environment. It was a statement far ahead of its time, and a striking rejection of the prejudices that had once shaped his own views. 

Benjamin Franklin lived his life by 13 rules which he called "the 13 virtues." He wrote them when he was 20. (1)

Franklin was foundational in defining the U.S. ethos as a marriage of practical values with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment.

Benjamin Franklin was one of the co-founders of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. It supported scientific studies as well as philosophy.   

PUBLIC CAREER In the summer of 1731, Franklin and a few of his bookish chums—members of a philosophical society that apparently believed enlightenment was best pursued by committee—pooled their pennies and founded what would become the first public library in Philadelphia. They called it the Library Company. The next year they ordered their first batch of books—weighty theological works and moral instruction manuals mostly, because it was the 1730s and fun hadn’t been invented yet. But by 1741, the shelves had become more adventurous, featuring volumes on geography, poetry, science, and even the occasional travelogue involving pirates or plagues.

The idea of borrowing books instead of buying them caught on spectacularly, and soon other cities were copying Franklin’s model, to the benefit of poor readers and frugal philosophers everywhere.

Franklin had a habit of solving problems that hadn’t quite been solved yet. In 1736, bothered by how quickly things tended to burn down in colonial towns, he founded the Union Fire Company—one of the first volunteer firefighting organizations in America. As with most things Franklin touched, it was both sensible and oddly ahead of its time.

By 1749, Franklin had turned his prodigious mind to education. He published Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania, a document that outlined a refreshingly modern vision of schooling. Gone were the usual Latin declensions and moralizing lectures; in came mathematics, science, and modern languages—things one might actually use if one hoped to make a living or invent bifocals. The proposals led to the establishment of the Philadelphia Academy in 1751, which eventually grew into the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin was its first president, because of course he was.

The curriculum he designed was so practical and forward-thinking it made other schools look like monasteries. The first graduating class, in 1757, featured seven men, six Bachelors and one Master of Arts—impressive for a school that had barely unpacked its bookshelves.

Franklin also had a rather full extracurricular schedule. In 1737, he became postmaster of Philadelphia, and eventually the first joint deputy postmaster-general for all British North America. The postal service was, unsurprisingly, a bit of a mess, so Franklin climbed into a carriage and set about measuring the distances himself, inventing a rudimentary odometer in the process—because why not invent a new device before lunch?

He also found time to get elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1750, where he remained until 1764, transforming Philadelphia into a functional city with paved streets, a fire brigade, a proper police force, and lit lamps that didn’t involve carrying a torch and hoping for the best.

In 1751, alongside Dr. Thomas Bond, he helped found the Pennsylvania Hospital—the first in what would eventually become the United States. This was a significant development, not least because it meant Philadelphians now had a place to recover when they fell off ladders or were run over by experimental postal carriages.

In 1754, Franklin attended the Albany Congress, a sort of prequel to American unity where he proposed the Albany Plan—a sensible framework for colonial cooperation that was rejected for being, well, too sensible. Franklin believed to his dying day that if people had just listened to him then, they might have skipped the whole Revolutionary War thing.

In 1757 Franklin packed his wigs and sailed off to London as Pennsylvania’s representative. After a brief stint back in Philadelphia, he returned to England in 1764 for another ten-year stay, trying to reason with Parliament on behalf of the colonies, a task roughly as satisfying as lecturing cows on the benefits of vegetarianism.

When war finally broke out in 1775, Franklin returned home, now a revolutionary in waistcoat and spectacles. He soon helped secure the crucial alliance with France, without which America might still be spelling colour with a "u." French troops and a very useful navy eventually turned the tide against Britain.

Franklin, naturally, helped negotiate the peace as well.

From 1776 to 1785, he served as America's ambassador to France, a job he handled with wit, charm, and a silk suit . While there, he also campaigned for the expansion of American ideas across Europe, reminding anyone who would listen that the colonies were not a backwater of farmers and rebels, but a place of bold thinkers and bigger dreams.

And here’s a final marvel: Franklin was the only person to sign all four of the foundational documents that shaped the United States—the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Peace with Britain (1782), and the U.S. Constitution (1787).

In short, if history were a group project, Franklin would have done most of the work—and probably invented the pencil.

POLITICS Franklin was a central figure in colonial and revolutionary politics. He advocated for colonial unity, represented American interests in Britain and France, and was instrumental in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. He promoted compromise and pragmatic solutions, notably at the Constitutional Convention

SCANDAL Franklin’s personal life occasionally attracted scandal, particularly regarding his illegitimate son William and his flirtatious behavior in France. His political enemies accused him of opportunism and duplicity, but his reputation for integrity generally prevailed

Franklin became embroiled in the Hutchinson Letters affair, a major political scandal. He obtained private letters written by Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson and Lieutenant Governor Andrew Oliver and forwarded them to the Massachusetts House. Despite Franklin's wishes, the letters were published in the Boston Gazette in June 1773, causing political and civil revolt. During a hearing before the Privy Council on January 29, 1774, Franklin was accused by British Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn of illegally obtaining the letters for the purpose of inciting rebellion in the colonies. He was accused of being a thief and of dishonor, but Franklin refused to respond to the accusations or reveal his source.

MILITARY RECORD Benjamin Franklin did not have a traditional military record as a soldier. However, he was actively involved in colonial defense:

He organized and led Pennsylvania's colonial militia during the French and Indian War, helping to build fortifications and raise troops. Franklin's command of the militia touched basic points in the power struggle between the Assembly and proprietary party. His appointment caused significant political controversy, with opponents claiming Franklin had designs to assume full personal power in the province.

Franklin was largely responsible for the 1778 alliance with France  which helped win the Revolutionary War for America. Once the French King sent troops and a fleet, it made defeat for Britain inevitable. At the end of the war he helped draw up the peace treaty.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Franklin was generally robust and healthy for much of his life, which he attributed partly to his active lifestyle and relatively moderate habits. 

In London, Franklin took ill with severe breathing problems (probably from London's foul, polluted air) and for eight weeks, Margaret Stevenson nursed him back to health.

In his later years, Franklin suffered from gout, kidney stones, and other ailments, which caused him considerable pain. Despite this, he remained intellectually active almost until his death.

HOMES Franklin 's homes included:

Boston: The Franklins lived on Milk Street, Boston for the first six years of Benjamin's life, until January 25, 1712. The Franklins moved from their rented home on Milk Street and bought a house from Peter Sargeant at the south-west corner of Union and Hanover Streets. It was about five times as large as their Milk Street home. (1)

Philadelphia: He established himself in Philadelphia, where he and Deborah set up house on Market Street as a common-law marriage

London: From 1757 to 1775, Franklin took up residence at No. 27 Craven Street in London,  near Whitehall, where he rented rooms from Mrs. Margaret Stevenson.. This address is now the Benjamin Franklin House, the world's only remaining home of Benjamin Franklin outside the USA. 

Paris: During his time as ambassador, he lived at a house in Passy, a suburb of Paris, which became a hub for American diplomacy and a salon for European intellectuals.

TRAVEL Franklin was one of the most widely traveled Americans of his era:

To Philadelphia (1723): Ran away from Boston to seek his fortune.

To London (1724-1726, 1757-1762, 1764-1775): Spent many years in London for printing training and later as a colonial agent, accumulating significant experience in British society and politics.

To France (1776-1785): His crucial diplomatic mission to Paris during the American Revolution.

Throughout the Colonies: Traveled extensively as Postmaster General, improving routes and services.

His travels exposed him to diverse cultures and political systems, profoundly shaping his worldview.

DEATH Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at his home in Philadelphia at the age of 84. His final illness was brought on by empyema, a condition involving pus in the lungs caused by repeated attacks of pleurisy, which he had suffered throughout his life. In his last days, Franklin experienced high fever, chest pain, cough, and severe difficulty breathing. Five days before his death, an abscess in his lungs burst, leading to a coma. He died peacefully at around 11 o’clock at night, with his grandsons William Temple and Bennie at his side. His last reported words, spoken to his daughter who had suggested he reposition himself for comfort, were: “a dying man can do nothing easy”.

Franklin’s funeral took place on April 21, 1790, and was the largest ever seen in Philadelphia at that time. An estimated 20,000 people attended—remarkable given the city’s population was only about 28,000. The funeral procession started at the State House and included clergy from all denominations, including the Hebrew congregation, walking before the coffin. The pallbearers were among the most prominent leaders of Pennsylvania, including the president of the state, the chief justice, and other dignitaries. The procession was joined by politicians, scientists, printers, members of the American Philosophical Society, and the College of Physicians. The order and silence of the crowd reflected the deep respect and sense of loss felt by all classes of citizens.

Notably absent were President George Washington and members of Congress, who were in New York City at the time.

Franklin was buried in Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia, one of America’s most historic colonial cemeteries. His grave is beside those of his wife, Deborah, who had died 25 years earlier, and his son Francis Folger Franklin. Franklin had once written a witty epitaph for himself, but his actual grave, as specified in his will, is marked simply: “Benjamin and Deborah Franklin.” Today, the gravesite is visible from the street through iron rails, and it is a tradition for visitors to leave pennies on the grave in his honor.

Franklin’s death was mourned internationally. The French National Assembly went into mourning, and memorial services were held throughout France. Count Mirabeau famously said, “He was able to restrain thunderbolts and tyrants.” In the United States, Franklin’s passing was recognized as the loss of one of the nation’s greatest citizens, and his funeral procession was described as a moment when Philadelphia “buried more of itself than ever before.”

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Franklin has been the subject of numerous media portrayals. 

1. Books and Literature

Ben and Me (1939) by Robert Lawson – A humorous children’s book told from the point of view of a mouse who lives in Franklin’s hat and secretly helps him invent and discover things.

Franklin appears in novels like Esther Forbes’s Johnny Tremain (1943) and William Martin’s Citizen Washington (1999), often as a wise, sardonic mentor figure.

2. Film and TV

1776 (1972, musical film & stage play) – Franklin is a major character, portrayed as witty, bawdy, and politically savvy. Howard Da Silva played him in both the Broadway and film versions.

John Adams (2008, HBO miniseries) – Tom Wilkinson plays Franklin as a shrewd and world-weary diplomat. The show highlights his role in securing French support for the Revolution.

He has appeared in episodes of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Liberty’s Kids (a PBS series), often as a slightly eccentric but brilliant inventor and statesman.

Ken Burns released Benjamin Franklin (2022), a two-part PBS documentary narrated by Mandy Patinkin, offering a detailed and humanized portrait.

3. Video Games

Assassin’s Creed III – Franklin appears as a non-playable character (NPC) in this American Revolution–era game, handing out side quests involving his famous “missing pages.”

Civilization series – He sometimes appears as a Great Person or in scenarios involving the Enlightenment or the founding of America.

4. Commercials and Pop Culture References

Franklin's image has been used in everything from car insurance ads to Drunk History (where he’s often played for laughs as a saucy genius with a quill).

His face, of course, appears on the U.S. $100 bill—a recurring gag in many films and TV shows about wealth or crime.

ACHIEVEMENTS Franklin’s achievements are vast:

Founding Father of the United States

Drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

Secured French alliance during the American Revolution

Invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and Franklin stove

Advanced the understanding of electricity

Founded key civic institutions: Library Company, University of Pennsylvania, American Philosophical Society

Published Poor Richard’s Almanack and influential essays

Promoted religious tolerance, public education, and abolition of slavery

Sources (1) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (2) History Oasis (3) The Giant Book of Facts and Trivia by Isaac Asimov (4) Wikipedia (5) Journal of the American Revolution (6) Christian Heritage Fellowship