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Ken Burns’ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Premieres April 4 and 5

This two-part film explores Franklin’s multi-faceted life as a scientist, inventor, writer, diplomat and founding father

  • Christina Zeiders
Young Franklin at the Press. By Enoch Wood Perry, 1876.

 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York / Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Young Franklin at the Press. By Enoch Wood Perry, 1876.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Ken Burns’ newest two-part documentary, will air on WITF TV April 4 and 5, starting at 8pm each night. It will also be available to watch on-demand through the free PBS Video app.

The film explores the life and work of one of the most consequential figures in American History – a prolific writer and publisher, a groundbreaking scientist and inventor, a world-renowned diplomat and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution.

Watch BENJAMIN FRANKLIN on WITF TV April 4 and 5 from 8-10pm. The two-part film will also be available to stream on-demand through the free PBS Video app.

Franklin, whose life has been celebrated as a quintessential American story, was anything but typical. His 84 years spanned most of the 18th century, a time of revolutionary change in science, technology, literature, politics and government – change that Franklin himself helped to advance.

He launched the first public library in America, organized a volunteer fire company, and founded an academy that eventually became the University of Pennsylvania. He was a prolific writer and publisher. His annual publication, Poor Richard’s Almanack, set a model for future humorists, such as Mark Twain, and contained maxims that are still part of our shared lexicon.

While Franklin was committed to the ideals of the Enlightenment – always looking to improve himself, his community, and humanity at large – he was also full of contradictions.

Despite being so closely associated with independence and individual liberty, he enslaved people and did not become an abolitionist until very late in life. And while he publicly denounced white settlers who indiscriminately killed Indigenous people, he championed the expansion of white settlements on to Indigenous lands.

“Benjamin Franklin was a fascinating and complicated individual who helped shape our contemporary world,” said Ken Burns. “If we see him for more than his long list of accomplishments, we recognize an imperfect man challenging himself and his contemporaries as he tries to understand and improve the world around him… His story is one of hope, with a faith in the common man. But his shortcomings are also a reminder of this country’s failure to address slavery at the time of its founding and the racial divisions that continue to impact our country today.”

The first part of the documentary covers Franklin’s life from his birth in 1706 until 1774. After building a printing empire in Philadelphia with his wife Deborah, Franklin gains worldwide fame from electricity experiments, then spends years in London trying to keep Britain and America together as his family comes apart.

The second part of the film explores Franklin’s life from 1775 until his death in 1790. In wartime Philadelphia, Franklin helps Thomas Jefferson craft the Declaration of Independence. In Paris, he wins French support for the American Revolution. Back home, he works on the Constitution of the new United States.

Watch the premiere of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN April 4 and 5 at 8pm on WITF TV. You’ll have a second chance to watch the programs on WITF TV Sundays, April 10 and 17 at 6pm, or watch the two-part film on-demand through the PBS Video app.

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