Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is a four-part memoir of his life, originally written for his son but in later sections intended for publication.
Bibliographic notesFranklin's Autobiography was not published in his lifetime. In 1790 a French translation of the first part was published in Paris, with English versions following a few years later. Franklin's grandson, William Temple Franklin, published a fuller authorized edition in 1817 and 1818, but frequently altered the text, and did not include the final part. In 1868, John Bigelow published the first complete English edition from the original manuscript; his editions were long recognized as standard. More recent scholarly editions re-examine and document revisions made in Franklin's original manuscript; I do not know of free online copies of these editions, but the manuscript itself can be examined online.
Numerous popular and school editions have also been published. Some include additional annotations and writings. Some editions abridge the work for length or propriety, and do not always note this.
See also- Online books about Autobiography
- Wikipedia article about Autobiography
- Online books by Benjamin Franklin
- Online books filed under these subjects:
- Full catalog description
These are probably the most faithful printed texts freely available online at present.
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Edited From His Manuscript, With Notes and an Introduction (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co.; London: Trubner and Co., 1868), by Benjamin Franklin, ed. by John Bigelow (multiple formats at archive.org). The first of Bigelow's editions. - The Life of Benjamin Franklin, Written by Himself, Now First Edited From Original Manuscripts and From His Printed Correspondence and Other Writings (fifth edition, revised and enriched, 3 volumes; Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott and Co., c1916), by Benjamin Franklin, ed. by John Bigelow (page images at HathiTrust). The fifth edition, which includes various supplementary material, was the last edition I am aware of that was prepared by Bigelow himself.
To the best of my knowledge, these editions include all of Bigelow's text (from one or another of his editions), and may also include additional material.
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (from the Collier edition of 1909), by Benjamin Franklin, ed. by Charles William Eliot (multiple formats at Google)
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (images of the autograph manuscript at the Huntington Digital Library), by Benjamin Franklin (page images at huntington.org). Difficult to read online, but the image enlargement tool helps.
- Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1916), by Benjamin Franklin, ed. by Frank Woodworth Pine, illust. by E. Boyd Smith (Gutenberg text and illustrated HTML). This edition intended for younger readers claims to follow the text of Bigelow's, but silently censors some passages. It also adds illustrations and contextual material.
- Look for editions of this book at your library, or elsewhere.