Ben came to Philadelphia to be a printer, and he did just that. As a printer, he accomplished a lot.
He made the first copperplate printing press in America. As owner and printer of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he printed news about people living in Pennsylvania. Most papers didn’t do that. When his Gazette became the most important newspaper in the colonies, he hired horsemen to deliver it quickly.
Franklin turned out dozens of essays, articles, and pamphlets. He wrote thousands of letters (to more than 4,000 people!). He also wrote a four-part autobiography and Poor Richard’s Almanack, which was published once a year. It was very popular. People still treasure copies of it today.
