Thursday, September 11, 2008

Ben Franklin In France

Did you know...
Ben Franklin lived in France for nine years and became a beloved resident of Passy, a town just outside of Paris. When Franklin went home to America in 1785, America's new ambassador to France, Thomas Jefferson, wrote, "When he left Passy, it seemed as if the village had lost its patriarch." Five years later Franklin died, and it was France, not the United States, that mourned Franklin with the pomp and ceremony befitting a hero. To the French, Franklin is still a major figure and, according to Claude-Anne Lopez: "Many French think he was president of the United States. They say, 'he was the best president you ever had!'" 

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