Page:Poor Richard's almanack (IA poorrichardsalma00franrich).pdf/7

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Opposite historic Old South Church in Boston, on January 6, 1706, was born Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin was the fifteenth child of Josiah Franklin, whose occupation was that of tallow-chandler or candle-maker. Business was not prosperous, and the Franklin family was reared in very humble circumstances.

As a child, Benjamin hungered for books and knowledge. During the two years that his father was able to send him to school, he showed remarkable aptitude and industry, and rapidly outdistanced his fellow pupils.

The first book which Franklin read was Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". By trading and borrowing, he managed to secure other volumes. His passion for reading was so intense that he attracted the attention of a kind-hearted Boston merchant, who gave the boy access to his well-stocked library. Franklin read only books which could add to his education, and read them with a thoroughness that extracted every bit of useful knowledge.

After leaving school, Franklin was apprenticed to his brother James in the