List of primary and secondary works by or about Benjamin Franklin
This is a comprehensive list of primary and secondary works by or about Benjamin Franklin, one of the principal Founding Fathers of the United States. Works about Franklin have been consistently published during and after Franklin's life, spanning four centuries, and continue to appear in present-day publications. Scholarly works that are not necessarily subject-specific to Franklin, yet cover his life and efforts in significant measure, may also be included here. In contrast, this bibliography does not include the numerous encyclopedia articles and short essays about Franklin.
Biographical
18th century
19th century
Beers, Henry Augustin (1895). Initial studies in American letters. Meadville, Pa., New York, Flood and Vincent. Franklin's letter writing covered well in this work
Bigelow, John (1879). Franklin: a sketch. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
—— (1888). Franklin's Home and Host in France. Century Company.
Chaplin, Jeremiah (1876). The life of Benjamin Franklin. Chicago, Belford, Clarke & company.
Evans, Edmund (1865). Benjamin Franklin, the printer-boy. Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo.
Fisher, Sydney George (1899). The true Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Company.
Ford, Paul Leicester (1899). The many-sided Franklin. New York, The Century co.
—— (1889). Franklin bibliography. A list of books written by, or relating to Benjamin Franklin. Brooklyn, N. Y..
Hale, Edward Everett (1888). Franklin in France; from original documents. Boston, Roberts Brothers.
Hill, George Canning (1888). Benjamin Franklin; a biography. New York: R. Worthington.
Holley, Orville Luther (1860). The life of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: John E. Potter.
Morse, John Torrey (1898). Benjamin Franklin. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Parton, James (1864). Life and times of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. I. Ticknor and Fields.
—— (1864). Life and times of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. II. Ticknor and Fields.
Robins, Edward (1898). Benjamin Franklin, printer, statesman, philosopher and practical citizen, 1706-1790. New York & London, G. P. Putnam's sons.
Sparks, Jaared (1877). Benjamin Franklin, "doer of good": a biography. London: W.P. Nimmo.
Stevens, Henry (1881). Benjamin Franklin's life and writings: a bibliographical essay on the Stevens' collection of books and manuscripts relating to Doctor Franklin. London: Printed by Messrs. Davy & sons.
Strong, Frank B. (1898). Benjamin Franklin: a character sketch. Milwaukee: H.G. Campbell.
Thayer, William Makepeace (1864). The printer boy; How Benjamin Franklin made his mark. Boston, J. E. Tilton and company.
Thayer, William Makepeace (1889). From boyhood to manhood, life of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Hurst.
Thorpe, Francis Newton (1893). Benjamin Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania. Washington: Government Printing Office.
Tomkinson, E. M. (1885). Benjamin Franklin. Cassell & Company.
Weld, Horatio Hastings (1846). The pictorial life of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia, Lindsay and Blakiston.
Weems, Mason Locke (1873). The life of Benjamin Franklin: with many choice anecdotes and admirable sayings. Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt's Sons.
Wetzel, William Achenbach (1895). Benjamin Franklin as an economist. Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press.
20th century
Abbott, George Maurice (1913). A Short History of the Library Company of Philadelphia. Harvard University.
Amacher, Richard E. (1962). Benjamin Franklin. New York, Twayne Publishers.
Anderson, Douglas (1997). The radical enlightenmenst of Benjamin Franklin. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN .
Arbour, Keith (1999). Benjamin Franklin's First Government Printing. American Philosophical Society. ISBN .
Bache, Richard Meade (1900). Franklin's ceremonial coat. Philadelphia.
Balestra, Gianfranca (1999). Benjamin Franklin, an American genius. Chicago, Ill.: Open Court. ISBN .
Barbour, Frances M. (1974). A concordance to the sayings in Franklin's Poor Richard. Detroit: Gale Research Co. ISBN .
Becker, Carl L. (1946). Benjamin Franklin. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Bell, Whitfield J. (1997). Patriot-improvers: biographical sketches of members of the American Philosophical Society. American Philosophical Society. ISBN .
Bemis, Samuel Flagg (1924). British Secret Service and the French-American Alliance. Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association.
—— (1957). The diplomacy of the American Revolution. Indiana University Press.
Boorstin, Daniel (1958). The Americans, the colonial experience. New York, Random House. Franklin one of the central figures in this work
Bowen, Catherine Drinker (1974). The most dangerous man in America: scenes from the life of Benjamin Franklin. Boston, Little, Brown. ISBN .
Bridenbaugh, Carl (1942). Rebels and gentlemen; Philadelphia in the age of Franklin New York, Reynal & Hitchcock. New York, Reynal & Hitchcock.
Bruce, William Cabell (1917). Benjamin Franklin, self-revealed. New York, London, G. P. Putnam's sons.Benjamin Franklin: Self-Revealed public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Buffington, Joseph (1912). A recall of Benjamin Franklin. Lancaster, Pa., Press of the New era printing company.
Butler, John P., ed. (1978). Index, The Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. National Archives. — A comprehensive index (1466 pages) with hundreds of references to letters to and from Franklin, mostly involving the Continental Congress
Butler, Ruth Lamham (1928). Doctor Franklin, Postmaster General. Doubleday, Doran, Incorporated. ISBN .
Buxbaum, Melvin H. (1983). Benjamin Franklin: a reference guide. Vol. I. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall.
—— (1983). Benjamin Franklin: a reference guide. Vol. II. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall.
—— (1987). Critical essays on Benjamin Franklin. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall. ISBN .
Campbell, James (1999). Recovering Benjamin Franklin: An Exploration of a Life of Science and Service. Open Court Publishing. ISBN .
Clapp, Margaret A. (1947). Forgotten First Citizen: John Bigelow. Boston: Little, Brown.
Clark, Ronald William (1983). Benjamin Franklin: a biography. New York: Random House. ISBN .
—— (1953). Benjamin Franklin: His Contribution to the American Tradition. Bobbs-merrill Company.
Corwin, Edward Samuel (1916). French policy and the American Alliance of 1778. Princeton University Press.
Crane (1954). Benjamin Franklin and a rising people. Boston: Little, Brown.
Crane, Verner Winslow (1936). Benjamin Franklin, Englishman and American. Williams and Wilkins Company.
Currey, Cecil B. (1968). Road to Revolution: Benjamin Franklin in England, 1765-1775. Anchor Books.
—— (1972). Code Number 72/Ben Franklin: Patriot Or Spy?. Prentice-Hall. ISBN .
Dana, Emma Lilian (1915). Makers of America: Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln. New York: Immigrant Publication Society.
Daugherty, Charles Michael (1965). Benjamin Franklin: scientist-diplomat. New York, Macmillan.
Davidson, Philip (1941). Propaganda and the American Revolution, 1763-178. University of North Carolina Press.
Davies, Eryl (1981). Benjamin Franklin: experimenter extraordinary. Hove: Wayland. ISBN .
Donovan, Frank Robert (1963). The many worlds of Benjamin Franklin: by the editors of American heritage. New York: American Heritage Pub. Co.
Doren, Carl Van (1948). Benjamin Franklin's Autobiographical Writings. Viking Press.
Dudley, Edward Lawrence (1915). Benjamin Franklin. Cleveland, Ohio: World Syndicate Pub. Co.
Dull, Jonathan R. (1985). A diplomatic history of the American Revolution. Yale University Press. ISBN . Pictured on the cover, Franklin's diplomatic role is extensively covered in this work
Eiselen, Malcolm Rogers (1928). Franklin's Political Theories. Doubleday, Doran, Incorporated. ISBN .
Fay, Bernard (1929). Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times. Little, Brown. ISBN .
Fay, Bernard (1933). The two Franklins: fathers of American democracy. St. Clair Shores, Mich., Scholarly Press.
Fisher, Sydney George (1925). The True Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Fleming, Thomas J. (1972). Benjamin Franklin: a biography in his own words. New York: Newsweek. ISBN .
Franklin, Phyllis (1969). Show thyself a man. A comparison of Benjamin Franklin and Cotton Mather. The Hague, Paris, Mouton. ISBN .
Hall, Max (1960). Benjamin Franklin & Polly Baker: the history of a literary deception. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN .
Hays, Isaac Minis (1904). The chronology of Benjamin Franklin, founder of the American Philosophical Society. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
Holman, Louis Arthur (1916). Scenes from the life of Benjamin Franklin. Boston, Small, Maynard & company.
Huang, Nian-Sheng (1994). Benjamin Franklin in American thought and culture, 1790-1990. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN .
Ketcham, Ralph (1965). Benjamin Franklin. New York, Washington Square Press.
Kurutz, Gary F. (1980). Fifty Treasures of the California State Library. California State Library.
Lemay, Joseph A. (1993). Reappraising Benjamin Franklin: A Bicentennial Perspective. University of Delaware Press. ISBN .
Lopez, Claude-Anne (1990) [1966]. Mon cher papa: Franklin and the ladies of Paris. ISBN .
Lopez, Claude-Anne; Herbert, Eugenia W. (1985). The Private Franklin: The Man and His Family. W. W. Norton. ISBN .
Major, Clare Tree (1922). The story of Benjamin Franklin. New York, N.Y., Newark, N.J., Barse & Hopkins.
McKown, Robin (1963). Benjamin Franklin.Benjamin Franklin public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Meadowcroft, Enid La Monte; Wilson, Edward Arthur (1952). The story of Benjamin Franklin. New York, Grosset & Dunlap.
Meltzer, Milton (1988). Benjamin Franklin: the new American. ISBN .
Middlekauff, Robert (1996). Benjamin Franklin and his enemies. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN .
More, Paul Elmer (1900). Benjamin Franklin. New York: Houghton, Mifflin.
Morgan, David T. (1999). The Devious Dr. Franklin, Colonial Agent: Benjamin Franklin's Years in London. Mercer University Press. ISBN .
Pepper, William, M.D. (1911). The medical side of Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia: William J. Campbell.: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Sanford, Charles L., ed. (1955). Benjamin Franklin and the American character. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company.
Sayre, Robert F. (1958). The Examined Self: Benjamin Franklin, Henry Adams, Henry James. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN .
Schaeper, Thomas J. (1995). France and America in the Revolutionary Era. Berghahn Books. ISBN . Covers Franklin's diplomatic role in France extensively
Schoenbrun, David (1976). Triumph in Paris: the exploits of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN .
Schofield, Robert E. (1997). The enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: a study of his life and work from 1733 to 1773. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN . (Covers Franklin's involvement with Priestly regarding electrical experiments and the English enlightenment)
Scudder, Evarts Seelye (1939). Benjamin Franklin, a biography. London, Collins.
Skemp, Sheila L. (1994). Benjamin and William Franklin: father and son, patriot and loyalist. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press. ISBN .
Sherman, Stuart Pratt (1922). Americans: Franklin and the Age of Enlightenment, Chapter III. New York, C. Scribner's sons.
Smith, Jeffery Alan (1990). Franklin and Bache: envisioning the enlightened republic. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN .
Stinchcombe, William C. (1969). The American Revolution and the French alliance. Syracuse University Press. ISBN . Franklin's diplomatic role is well covered in this work
Smythe, J. Henry (1929). The Amazing Benjamin Franklin. Frederick A. Stokes Company.
Stephens, BradPhiladelphia, Dill & Collins, co. (1923). The pictorial life of Benjamin Franklin,printer, typefounder, ink maker, bookbinder, copperplate engraver and printer ... Philadelphia, Dill & Collins, co.: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Stewart, Gail B. (1992). The importance of Benjamin Franklin. Lucent Books. ISBN .
Stifler, James Madison (1925). The religion of Benjamin Franklin. New York, London, D. Appleton and Company.
Stourzh, Gerald (1954). Benjamin Franklin and American foreign policy. University of Chicago Press.
Swenson, Virginia (1981). The Power of Industry: Featuring the Story of Benjamin Franklin. Eagle Systems International. ISBN .
Swift, Lindsay (1910). Benjamin Franklin. Boston, Small, Maynard & company.
Thayer, William Makepeace (1905). Benjamin Franklin, or, From printing office to the court of St. James. London, Hodder and Stoughton.
Tolles, Frederick Barnes (1953). Franklin and the Pulteney Mission: An Episode in the Secret History of the American Revolution. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Tottle, John (1958). Benjamin Franklin. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN .
Tottle, John (1958). Benjamin Franklin: First Great American. Houghton Mifflin.
Tourtellot, Arthur Bernon (1977). Benjamin Franklin: the shaping of genius: the Boston Years. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN .
Turzak, Florence (1935). Benjamin Franklin. A Biography in Woodcuts. New York.
Van Doren, Carl (1920). Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edwards selections from their writings. Charles Scribner's sons, New York, Chicago, Boston.
—— (1938). Benjamin Franklin. New York, Garden City Publishing Company. (Also published in 1948, 1966, 1987 and 1991)
Victory, Beatrice Marguerite (1915). Benjamin Franklin and Germany. University of Pennsylvania.
Walters, Kerry S. (1999). Benjamin Franklin and His Gods. University of Illinois Press. ISBN .
Wechsler, Louis K (1976). Benjamin Franklin: American and world educator. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN .
Whipple, Wayne (1910). Franklin's key. Philadelphia, Franklin printing co.
—— (1916). The story of young Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia, Henry Altemus company.
Wilson, Mitchell A. (1960). American Science and Invention, a Pictorial History: The Fabulous Story of how American Dreamers, Wizards, and Inspired Tinkerers Converted a Wilderness Into the Wonder of the World. Bonanza Books.
Wise, Winifred Esther (1970). Benjamin Franklin. Putnam.
Woodward, Carl Raymond (1942). Benjamin Franklin - Adventures in Agriculture. Franklin Institute.
21st century
Aldridge, Alfred Owen (2018). Franklin and His French Contemporaries. Creative Media Partners. ISBN .
Allison, Andrew M. (1982). The Real Benjamin Franklin: The True Story of America's Greatest Diplomat. Salt Lake City, Utah: Freemen Institute. ISBN ..
Anderson, Douglas (2012). The Unfinished Life of Benjamin Franklin. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN .
Benge, Janet; Benge, Geoff (2005). Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire. YWAM Publishing. ISBN .
Bernstein, Richard B. (2011) [2009]. The Founding Fathers Reconsidered. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199832576.001.0001. ISBN . (Many references to Franklin throughout the work)
Block, Seymour Stanton (2004). Benjamin Franklin, genius of kites, flights and voting rights. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. ISBN .
Bloom, Harold (2008). Benjamin Franklin. New York: Blooms Literary Criticism. ISBN .
Brands, H. W. (2000). The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. ISBN .
Bunker, Nick (2019). Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN .
Chaplin, Joyce E. (2006). The first scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the pursuit of genius. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN .
Daugherty, James (2000). Poor Richard. Beautiful Feet Books. ISBN .
Downes, Paul (2002). Democracy, revolution, and monarchism in early American literature. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN . — Numerous references to Franklin throughout the work, with much commentary on works like Poor Richard, etc.
Ellis, Joseph (2002). Founding brothers: the revolutionary generation. New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books. ISBN . Covers Franklin's role among the Founding Fathers and the founding of the American nation
Finger, Stanley (2006). Doctor Franklin's medicine. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN .
Flavell, Julie (2010). When London was capital of America. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN . — Numerous references to Franklin while in England throughout this work
Fleming, Thomas J. (2007). Benjamin Franklin: inventing America. New York: Sterling Pub. ISBN .
Gaustad, Edwin S. (2008). Benjamin Franklin. Oxford University Press. ISBN .
Goodwin, George (2016). Benjamin Franklin in London: The British Life of America's Founding Father. Yale University Press. ISBN .
Hart, D. G. (2021). Benjamin Franklin: Cultural Protestant. Oxford University Press. ISBN .
Houston, Alan Craig (2008). Benjamin Franklin and the politics of improvement. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN .
Haugen, Brenda (2005). Benjamin Franklin: Scientist and Statesman. Capstone. ISBN .
Isaacson, Walter (2004). Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN .
Kerry, Paul E.; Holland, Matthew S. (2012). Benjamin Franklin's Intellectual World. Fairleigh Dickinson. ISBN .
Kidd, Thomas S. (2017). Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father. Yale University Press. ISBN .
Krensky, Stephen (2008). Benjamin Franklin. New York.: DK Pub. ISBN .
Lee, Tanja (2002). Benjamin Franklin. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Lemay, J. A. Leo (2009). The Life of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. I Soldier, Scientist, and Politician, 1748–1757. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN .
—— (2006). The Life of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. II Soldier, Scientist, and Politician, 1748–1757. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN .
—— (2009). The Life of Benjamin Franklin. Vol. III Soldier, Scientist, and Politician, 1748–1757. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN .
Mulford, Carla (2008). The Cambridge companion to Benjamin Franklin. Cambridge University Press. ISBN .
Morgan, Edmund Sears (2003). Benjamin Franklin. Yale University Press. ISBN .
Franklin, Benjamin (2007). Morgan, Edmund Sears (ed.). Not your usual founding father: selected readings from Benjamin Franklin. New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press.
Mulford, Carla J. (2015). Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN .
Murrey, Christopher J. (2002). Benjamin Franklin: biographical overview and bibliography. New York: Nova Science Publishers. ISBN .
Olson, Lester C. (2004). Benjamin Franklin's vision of American community: a study in rhetorical iconology. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN .
Pancek, William (2004). Benjamin Franklin, Trickster. Digital Commons @ Trinity.
Pangle, Lorraine Smith (2007). The political philosophy of Benjamin Franklin. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN .
Purvis, Thomas L. (May 14, 2014). Colonial America To 1763. Infobase Publishing. ISBN .
Rosenberg, Gary D. (2009). The Revolution in Geology from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Geological Society of America. ISBN .
Schaeper, Thomas J. (2011). Edward Bancroft: scientist, author, spy. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN . (Bancroft, a British spy in France, worked in close association with Franklin who is referred to extensively throughout this work)
Schiff, Stacy (2005). A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. Thorndike Press. ISBN .
Streissguth, Thomas (2005) [1958]. Benjamin Franklin. Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner Publications. ISBN .
Strodes, James (2002). Franklin: the essential founding father. Washington DC: Regnery Pub. ISBN .
Tucker, Tom (2003). Bolt of fate: Benjamin Franklin and his electric kite hoax. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN .
Waldstreicher, David (2004). Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, slavery, and the American Revolution. ISBN .
Waldstreicher, David (2011). A Companion to Benjamin Franklin. Wiley. ISBN .
Walters, Kerry S. (2011). Revolutionary deists: early America's rational infidels. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN