January 17th of this year marked the 300th birthday of America’s first celebrity, Benjamin Franklin. In celebration of this event, our guest speaker was Mark Skousen, 8th generation descendant of Benjamin Franklin. Known as the “maverick” of economics for his contrarian and optimistic views, his sometimes-outrageous statements and predictions, Mark Skousen is a college professor, prolific author and world-renowned speaker. He has a unique sense of market and investment trends and is respected in the financial world.
Dr. Skousen has recently completed his book on Benjamin Franklin titled The Completed Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, a book that covers the years 1757 until the death of Franklin in 1790. As resources for the book, Skousen used Franklin’s letters, journal and other writings to finish the biography for the last 33 years of Franklin’s life.
He began his speech by stating that Franklin was an irreverent person. “Franklin was a doer and a worker but not one for prayers and fasts,” Skousen said. Franklin was a student of the Enlightenment, which disdained the idea that blood lines are significant. Franklin quipped that “nobility” meant “no ability.” Due to his own abilities, Franklin retired at age 42 and devoted the rest of his life to service and scientific endeavors. Dr. Skousen cited Franklin’s advice to descendants of famous people: Know your ancestors, pursue education (formal and informal), practice industry, frugality and prudence, and be humble. Franklin’s attitude toward life was a positive one, even in his old age. He had gout, a “stone” and was getting old, but he still loved life!
Dr. Skousen closed by saying that Franklin wanted his epitaph to read that “I lived usefully” and not that “I died rich.”
Thank you, Dr. Skousen, for a wonderful talk on the life of Benjamin Franklin!