First published by Benjamin
Franklin in 1732, Poor Richard's Almanack was a guide to
both weather forecasts and wise maxims. Franklin used the
pseudonym Richard Saunders in writing the text, which soon became
an annual publication up until 1757. Response to the almanac was
tremendous, and it sold as many as 10,000 issues a year.
Franklin wrote Poor Richard's Almanack as a service to the American people, hoping to educate them and entice their intellectual appetities. Since it was extremely common for the almanac to be the only publication a person ever purchased, the author felt indebted to write as much as he possibly could.
As Richard Saunders, Franklin was given both the freedom to express his thoughts and the freedom to do so with dramatic license. Consequently, he continued to emphasize the two qualities he found most essential to success: industry and frugality.
Home | Biography | Inventions | References | Quotations