I've received a few questions about these "Richard Saunders" that I have been posting on a daily basis. They range from "So Richard Saunders wrote Poor Richards Alamanack?" to "Didn't Benjamin Franklin write Poor Richards Almanack?" to "Who is Richard Saunders?" and "What is #BennyFrank?"
So, the answers to the first two questions are "yes" and "yes." The second two will be touched on later.
The TL;DR version is that Richard Saunders or Poor Richard was the pen name or pseudonym used by Benjamin Franklin when writing Poor Richards Almanack.
Poor Richards Almanack
In 1932, Benjamin Franklin printed and published the first edition of The Poor Richard, an almanac that he published annually for the next 25 years until the final and last 1958 Almanac.
As an almanac, it was full of various things, including calendars, weather, poems, trivia, advice, aphorisms, jokes, puzzles, hoaxes, astronomy, astrology, predictions, and even "news stories" that carried over between editions so you were left in suspense until the following year's edition was released.
The most important content of The Poor Richard was Franklin's wit, wordplay, and cynicism in the right areas. Many of the sayings and adages strewn throughout the Almanack were popular quotes from years prior, some with Franklin's twist. Regardless of the original author of these little quips, Franklin made them popular enough that they continue to resonate hundreds of years later in the United States of America. For example...
- "A penny saved is a penny earned" emphasizes the richness of frugality.
- "The early bird catches the worm" implies the advantage of being the first to do something.
- "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise" speaks for itself.
The almanac was a huge success, selling up to 10,000 copies per year. It also became quite popular overseas and legend has it that Napoleon ordered copies translated into Italian and French.
Richard Saunders
Richard Saunders was the pen name or pseudonym used by Benjamin Franklin when authoring Poor Richards Almanack. Franklin borrowed the name from Richard Saunders, a deceased doctor and astrologer.
Richard Saunders was the author of Rider's British Merlin, a popular London almanac published from 1626 until the 1830s. Saunders himself wrote under the pseudonym Cardanus Rider, which was simply an anagram for Richard Saunders.
The persona developed by Franklin for his version of Richard Saunders was loosely based on Jonathan Swift's character Isaac Bickerstaff, who, in a series of letters, predicted the imminent death of astrology and almanac maker John Partridge. Therefore, Franklin's character, Richard Saunders also claimed to be a philomath and astrologer predicting the deaths of astrologers who also wrote almanacs. To Franklin, predicting and even falsely reporting the deaths of these astrologers became a bit of a running joke, much to the chagrin of those whose doom he jokingly predicted.
Initially, the pseudonym's persona was distinct from Franklin's, but over the years, Richard's character started to align with Franklin's actual persona. Here is an image of Richard Saunder's introduction from the first edition.
Poor Richard
The name Poor Richard itself was adapted from an almanac that Franklin's brother was publishing in Newport called the Poor Robin.
Interestingly enough, James Franklin's Poor Robin was taken from another British almanac, first published in 1664, called Poor Robin.
BennyFrank
Finally, we get to good old Benny Frank. "Benny Frank" is just an informal (read sophomoric) nickname for Benjamin Franklin. In Philadelphia, Mr. Franklin holds a special place in our hearts. Many of America's firsts were the direct result of Dr. Franklin.
Describing who Ben Franklin was is no simple task. It has often been wondered if it was better to explain who he wasn't rather than who he was. Take, for instance, this summary describing our dear friend Ben.
Benjamin Franklin was an American polymath, writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, philosopher, newspaper editor, beer brewer, and abolitionist.
Maybe we can toss in a few of his civic accomplishments, too.
Benjamin Franklin organized the Pennsylvania militia, founded the first fire department in Philadelphia, and was the first postmaster general for the British colonies. He was also the founder of Pennsylvania Hospital, which was the first hospital in the colonies. He organized the Philadelphia Contributionship and the first homeowner's insurance company as well.
Of course, what would be a mention of Benny Frank without his political achievements?
*Benjamin Franklin was a Founding Father of the United States, a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Ambassador to France, and the President of Pennsylvania from 1785-1788, and the first United States Postmaster General. *
For good measure, we can toss in a few other "firsts."
*Benjamin Franklin pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which became the University of Pennsylvania; he organized and was the first president of the American Philosophical Society and the founder of the Philadelphia Library Company, *
As if all of that wasn't nearly enough, we must include a few of his scientific feats. We will never forget that guy who was brave (or insane) enough to attach a metal key to a kite and fly it in a thunderstorm, but alas, that experiment did give us the lightning rod.
He is also well known for the Franklin stove, bifocals, the emergence of demographics, and even some of the earliest Gulf stream charts.
Franklin invented, founded, and started so much that Philadelphians even joke that he was the inventor of "wooder" which leads to all good things like "wooder ice" and "wooder-melon."
Most Philadelphians see Benny Frank as one of their own. He is an icon, a legend, a sage among sages, if you will. Thus, we refer to him like any other guy in the hood -- Benny Frank. If you are ever in Philly and see someone dressed up in the role of Benjamin Franklin be sure to give him a holler Philly style -- "Yo Benny, wassup!"
