Benjamin Franklin: The Founding Father

Check out Brilliant: brilliant.org/Biographics/
We made a mistake in the video. The American Revolutionary War dates should be:
Started: April 19, 1775 Won: September 3, 1783. We apologize for this error.
→Subscribe for new videos four times per week.
kzbin.info...
Visit our companion website for more: biographics.org
This video is sponsored by Brilliant
Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Shannon Quinn
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
Business inquiries to [e-mail]
Other Biographics Videos:
Bernie Madoff: The Greatest Con in History
• Bernie Madoff: The Gre...
Nikita Khrushchev - The Man Behind the Missile Crisis
• Nikita Khrushchev - Th...
Source/Further reading:
www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin-faq
www.nytimes.com/1972/02/27/ar...
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-...
www.let.rug.nl/usa/biographies...

[@Biographics]

We made a mistake in the video. The American Revolutionary War dates should be: Started: April 19, 1775 Won: September 3, 1783. We apologize for this error.

[@zk2611]

It appears you also made a number of other mistakes, for instance, Ben Franklin was definitely not a spy for the British. That's a salacious rumor that's almost completely unfounded. Disappointing, your videos are usually very informative.

[@Biographics]

The author felt the source was accurate and could be trusted. We did not add this to be salacious.

[@zk2611]

@@Biographics Salacious is definitely the wrong word, my apologies. However, it does appear to be a poorly researched Theory. Yes, there are a few sources who claim he was a spy for the British, but these are definitely an extreme minority and most credible sources either ignore that idea completely or dispute it. Essentially, it appears that this theory is basically a conspiracy theory. I think you could have done a little bit more to make that clear.

[@Biographics]

Agreed. We will learn from this.

[@zk2611]

@@Biographics Awesome, I love your channel and I've been a subscriber since back in the days when it was just voiceovers on TIFO. It's great to see you guys growing!

[@stephenwoods4118]

Franklin: "Always seek an older woman for love--they don't tell, they don't swell and they're grateful as hell"

[@Drinnan]

Untrue. Split with my older ex 6 months ago. In the years we were together she got pregnant, told her pals when something was wrong instead of talking with me and it didn't matter what I done, she had a moan about something

[@justinmcloughlin6375]

Stephen Woods I tryed really really hard to get one pregnant ;P she was fixed but it was still worth trying she liked that

[@jamellfoster6029]

As an older lady, I wouldn't look twice at a young man. Older men are THE BEST!!!!

[@jonathancharles3719]

@@Drinnan that’s u tho

[@jakethomson2991]

1776 was when the Declaration of Independence was written. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783 and the US Constitution wasn't ratified until 1789, bringing the United States of America into being.

[@jackrobin1829]

Jake Thomson yeah, I’m now suspicious of all his research!!

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

@@jackrobin1829 lol

[@ajnode]

@@jackrobin1829 When you're pumping out this much content, the 'research' involves Googling the name of the person, followed by "history" and then scanning over the info from the first search result.

[@peacefulwarrior4151]

True and it wasn't ratified until August 6th

[@CorbCorbin]

Jack Robin Simon isn’t the researcher or the writer, he’s the narrator. I think most all of the wildest theories, in this video, are from the same biographer, whom has a bad reputation.

[@zk2611]

Ben Franklin wasn't a spy for the British. That is an extremely controversial believe that almost no one holds. I had to dig through a large number of articles online to even find a single source supporting that idea. Every single other source either leaves it out entirely or mentions as a footnote that it's incorrect.

[@Kenxclout]

Contrary to popular belief, Benjamin Franklin didn’t discover electricity. He was just really shocked by it.

[@whiplash2821]

Best comment of the day

[@kewgardensstation]

LOL! Priceless.

[@alexnoel2]

Du du tss

[@The1976spirit]

Electricity discoverd Benjamin Franklin, yep.Electricity was faster again. Electricity can create wonders with a Colt, a Browning, a Winchester, a Glock all over the world. So always be alarmed when Electricity is around the house.

[@kingrichardiii6280]

True. people have been messing around with electricity as a pallor trick throughout Franklin life. Even there are several funny stories where Ben messed with electricity on a small scale such as him accidentally electrocuting himself trying to kill a turkey with electricity. Franklin's contribution was his kite experiment showed that lightning was an electrical event. This revelation helped Franklin to develop the lightning rod.

[@mrmacrules4life]

A number of mistakes. Franklin left Philadelphia for England to get financed for opening a print shop, not Boston. He also tricked his brother out of his apprenticeship when his brother signed over his printing shop to him because he was thrown in jail for criticizing the local government and lost the rights to publish a newspaper. James put the paper in his name, and Ben used that to free himself from being an apprentice and ran away to Philadelphia at 17. Franklin also never claimed to invent the stove; he openly admitted it was a design he improved upon. He also never claimed to invent electricity, in fact having numerous times alluded to his lack of knowledge on the subject. No mention was made of his masterful negotiations in politics while abroad, and all of his correspondence would indicate that after his public humiliation by Wedderburn before the Privy Council in 1774. That said, he was indeed lecherous and by no means a perfect man without vice...and he was indeed ruthless and unscrupulous in business practices when it came to his competition as a printer. I have read three different, well sourced biographies on him that come from his letters and correspondence and other historical accounts of his own words and that of his enemies, and this video has a great deal of falsities and debunked claims. It makes me wonder how historically accurate all of the other Biographics I have watched have been, and that's unfortunate. This video was nothing short of a poorly researched character assassination.

[@ChristianMatos-hb5ik]

There is always room for improvement. They focused too much on Franklin's more scandalous escapades and did not shine a light on why he is seen as a founding father today and how he contributed to the American revolution.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Ah, Ben Franklin, the original Fame Monster. Dude was a legend though, a living one and to ride from obscurity to one of the most enigmatic figures in American and world history is an accomplishment all by itself.

[@JDWelch-wp6ie]

Joshua Patrick -- Well said, sir.

[@peggyt1243]

Franklin might be known in US history but "world history"? Nope. The rest of the world does not wallow in US history.

[@kets4443]

@@peggyt1243 He did discover electricity and invent a few things, he was also a scientist - someone from the UK

[@agateplanet]

@@peggyt1243 Someone else from the UK. He was a friend of Voltaire too. Franklin was a champion and lead a fantastic life. Sure he was an Epicurean but why not ? He probably was easily bored and used pleasure as a crutch. Good on him I say ! If I could host a party of anyone from history Franklin is possibly the first name on the list.

[@mariaaviles6137]

Ok, I fully agree that Franklin wasn't the patriarch we read about as kids but even in one of your prior videos (can't remember which one) you gave him credit for negotiating for French support of the revolution. Why did you choose to ignore one of the few things he could actually be credited for?

[@kingrichardiii6280]

because the war ended in 1776 apparently.

[@surlygirly1926]

@@kingrichardiii6280 It began in 1775, and ended in 1783, with the Treaty of Paris. The signing of the Declaration of Independence occurred on July 4, 1776. With that act, the United States declared itself a sovereign nation no longer under Britain's rule. However, it took seven more years for the British to admit defeat and officially surrender.

[@theuniverseisme432]

Exactly, Franklin was SOOO accomplished , invented so many things, was the reason america won its independence... why is he not mentioning any of that

[@ianbauer4703]

@@kingrichardiii6280 Wrong

[@kingrichardiii6280]

@@ianbauer4703 you do realize this was a sarcastic comment about Simon saying the war ended in 1776, right?

[@Flatrocker512]

Wait. Wait. Wait... Exactly one author in the past two centuries has claimed that Franklin was a British spy, and suddenly you proclaim it as indisputable fact?

[@jackrobin1829]

Flatrocker512 yeah, & all while quoting wrong dates about the Revolution! What do they teach you in the U.K.!!??

[@WorthlessWinner]

I googled that author. Apparently he had a history of claiming people were spies who were not and getting sued for it. Numerous papers have been published rebutting his claims about Franklin too. It's sad to see Simon push a conspiracy theory like this. Implying he's a serial killer too! Or that he made no contributions to the study of electricity (Simon mocks his idea that electricity was a fluid, but that was actually an advance even though it turned out to be wrong). This video was clearly made with a narrative in mind and it "found" evidence to support it.

[@WarmPotato]

Simon is biased af, are you only now realizing?

[@Legion849]

Simon is only bashing facts. How can Ben even invent electricity??

[@JDWelch-wp6ie]

WarmPotato -- Simon is just a talking head, the "Host", which is another word for "talent" which is the term they used to use in the TV biz to describe the people who read the news. Watch him when he gets all silly -- he's not researching this stuff, he's just reading the script and making it sound good so that we'll consume it. It's actually the Producer's responsibility to check the Author's work. Dropped the ball big time, he did.

[@iceturtle-nb6rc]

That’s what makes the founding fathers so interesting and relatable, they all had kinda shitty attitudes and didn’t get along with each other too well

[@michaeloliver5892]

Give it about another century, and they'll be Gods.

[@tenacious645]

Relatable? I tend to relate to people who don't step on other people's heads to get ahead.

[@jamesworley4017]

@@tenacious645 That's literally capitalism.

[@Redshift2077]

Dude he was a literal monster, what is wrong with you Americans?

[@historiculgeomocule5569]

They didn't even agree on the exact ideology America was to adopt!

[@JP_RS6]

Might need to redo this one guys...

[@ballscrusher4]

why? is it not american enough?

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@Arafat Khan Simon also claimed that Philadelphia was the "nation's capital" long before it actually was. See 6:44

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

@Arafat Khan They try to convince you that Benjamin Franklin was a British double agent while never telling you that Franklin was the one responsible for getting the French to support the American revolution, or that he became estranged from his own son because that son was a staunch British loyalist. And they never even bothered to go into Franklin's dealings with the English Parliament, interactions that convinced him reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible. They either did a really bad job researching this video or purposely left things out to push their own agenda.

[@GARY84ROCKS]

@Arafat Khan Y'all non-Americans need to be kept in check, yo. Ya frontin', ya lyin', ya hatin' cause ya wantin'.

[@JP_RS6]

@Arafat Khan Im not American, Im from the UK, if you know your history you can clearly see the fault in this episode.

[@CptMoroni35]

Well, nevermind the fact that he spent most of years of the Revolution in Paris desperately seeking aid from Louis XVI for the Colonies. He was not in America during the war. His son was appointed Royal governor of New Jersey and was fiercely pro-British. When Franklin choose the American cause, they severed contact. But whatever...... what do I know, I’m just a “hero worshiping colonial.” 🙄

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

Yep, and they didn't even go into his dealings with British Parliament at all... interactions that convinced him reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible. This is one of the most important episodes in American history and they completely omitted it. Horrifically bad work.

[@Joker-jt3vn]

Charlie Hartness Not only that, but when his son was arrested, Franklin didn’t lift a finger to help him. Sounds like ol’ Ben was a British spy. (Add snarky tone for emphasis.)

[@russlehman2070]

If Franklin was a spy, he was so incompetent at it that his "cover" work (convincing the French to aid the Revolution) ended up helping the American cause more than his spying hurt it. It is unlikely in the extreme that the Revolution would have succeeded without French aid. However, say what you will about Franklin, "incompetent" is not attribute he demonstrated in anything else that he did. I would go so far to say that had Franklin really been working on the British side, the Revolution would most likely have failed.

[@Evenst3vn]

I've seen many of your videos and I'm a big fan, despite noticing a few mistakes and important omissions from time to time.... but this video is just a disaster. I strongly suggest you take it down to preserve Biographic's reputation and begin vetting your authors and/or their sources more carefully.

[@jmbrownell9]

Evenst3vn I TOTALLY agree! 👍👍

[@robm5581]

💯

[@thealiachekzaifoundationof3822]

Unfortunately Biographics are like those big companies, walmart, mcdonalds, amazon ETC. They don't care what we think bc they are so high & mighty they don't think they will ever fall.

[@tylercheney9544]

"despite an overwhelming amount of evidence..." of which he chooses to tell none of

[@sergiyrr5153]

fax

[@darrendonovan7230]

i know this seems more like an attempt to trash him

[@1127csk]

you seemed intent on an extremely negative portrayal in this one!

[@kingkeurig8679]

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." ~ Benjamin Franklin

[@jamiejoyce4146]

Weird, I've read multiple books about Franklin, his autobiography, and many transcripts of his letters (even held an actual letter written by him in my hands) and I came to completely different conclusions about his character and the mentioned historical events. There seems to be a lot of mischaracterization in this video. Would love to see the sources you compiled from which you derived your claims (autobiography aside).

[@JonMI6]

All of the sources they used should be in the video description

[@betsysmith4831]

Yep, they are full of it.

[@jordanaethelric2614]

He's a historic national hero of a much more conservative age. Governments go out of their way to cover up the misdeeds of influential leaders even now. Propaganda feeds nationalism.

[@robsonvonbrum1618]

@@jordanaethelric2614 propaganda feeds everything

[@jamiejoyce4146]

@carruthers100 always open to reading more, and from diverse sources. Can you share links to those declass docs please?

[@thegamblefish]

Littler known fact: Benjamin Franklin coined the term "Chillaxing", a modern popular slang term combining chilling and relaxing, two things Franklin was known to enjoy on his days off.

[@afellowartist3713]

"Don't mind me while i go chillaxing."

[@cobrakillingfrog646]

Umm. I think you folks (respectfully) should really do some more fact-checking. You state in this video that in 1776 that the American revolutionary war was won. Nope. 1783 for that. You further state that Mr. Franklin was spying for England at the time when the declaration of independence (yes, 1776) was signed. Mr. Franklin, during the war for independence was dispatched to France and was the key negotiator that got France to enter the war on the US side, but dont take my words for it. Research it! Full disclosure: My signature is annoyingly large too. Does the author of this video have signature envy? Hmmm...

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

Not only that, they completely ignored Franklin's dealings with British Parliament, interactions that convinced him reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible. This is the worst researched video I've seen on this channel so far.

[@cobrakillingfrog646]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 Thanks Whammy Bard, I could not agree with you more. Unfortunately, this is not the first of many videos that contain greviious errors. I am seriously considering unsubscribing due to the factual errors.

[@alextomasik4993]

You just going to ignore his relationship with the French helped win the Revolutionary War?

[@td4190]

So if you help win a war that excuses you from having 16 bodies buried in your basement.. cuz I'm pretty sure if the next military guy with a purple heart killed a family member of yours in 15 other people and buried him under his porch you wouldn't give him a pass.

[@adrianfleming3437]

Yeah because he did Jack all champ. Also like every great american idea he stole all his.

[@td4190]

@Noice bro!!! That's the absolute best case scenario. And if you really look nowadays at what we believe Benjamin Franklin has done and things that he did do he wasn't that good of a scientist actually he wasn't very good at a scientist he stole other people's ideas. I don't believe he was the great person that everyone thinks he is you just don't hide bodies in your basement unless you probably killed those people

[@littlebigheroman]

Well he *is* British. They hate us both!

[@samuelademeso9041]

the french would have got involved regardless of begimnin Franklin.

[@ZeroDrizzy]

Y'all make videos on Communists, socialists and fascist never mentioning hearsay or bad things about them but Benjamin Franklin being an American Hero is against your bias.

[@ryanwilson5834]

To be fair, them being communist, socialist, or fascist is damning enough

[@morethandeepmtd]

Can we get a video of the good stuff he did now? This was just a slam piece

[@tengen3613]

The channel is good. But, he always focuses on any negatives of America or Americans.

[@jr-gu4io]

The original "fake news"?

[@historiculgeomocule5569]

I guess so.

[@djtae808]

I don't know how accurate this video is... Sounds like alot of speculation with one book as "proof" of him being a spy.

[@charlesedwards2856]

There are a whole lot of easily researched errors in this video. It’s actually astonishing how bad this was. The person who wrote that he was a spy has been proven wrong on it. The serial killer conspiracy was debunked almost immediately. If you want a good biography on Franklin, check out the History Channel one or read the book by H. W. Brands, a noted Franklin historian and professor of history.

[@pyroromancer]

I learned Simon reads crash courses sources then regurgitates it at us. i unsubscribed from all his channels after years of mistakes and questionable claims.

[@jalderink]

@@pyroromancer Yet, here you are..

[@pyroromancer]

@@jalderink funny you seem to have the same opinion considering your 2 posts on the Nimitz video.

[@thealiachekzaifoundationof3822]

@@jalderink So?!

[@oslonorway547]

*Benjamin Franklin:* In the future, people would use my name as a synonym for money? *Mumble rappers in 2019:* _"I've got a whole stack of woah! woah! woah!"_

[@austinoldfield5251]

Oslo MGTOW blueface baby

[@sirpsychosecksi4953]

@@austinoldfield5251 my baby's face is blue, shes been sleeping for 49 hours, guess she was tired

[@itsdutchintime1907]

@@sirpsychosecksi4953 That's dark...

[@matt2.019]

You guys are absolutely killing it with the amount of quality content you put out. Thanks for giving me something educational to listen to while playing video games. Because of this I feel like I can further my self-improvement even in my down time.

[@brendanblessington6853]

The fact that you omitted the letters Benjamin Franklin wrote under the pen name Mrs. Silence Dogood does a deep injustice to him. You focused on failed attempts to sell his works on the street but completely skip over the fact of how he skillfully got his letters published on his brothers newspaper under the pen name of a fictional widow, and he skillfully showed his wit by poking fun at life in the colonies at the age of 16, displaying his intellect and wit at such a young age. This simple omission brings all your other videos under scrutiny for lack of due diligence in your research, or your aim to paint history as you see fit. I enjoyed your videos up untill this point. You have done Franklin and your fellow KZbin history channels a disservice, by a pure example of incompetence.

[@lunacouer]

Yeah, I'm really questioning any episode that the author of this, Shannon Quinn, has worked on. This was so lopsided that it almost felt personal. 😂 I mean, throwing in the parts about how Americans have so much "stupid" hero-worship for an "obviously" horrible person that, gasp, he has towns named after him? Like, who hurt you Shannon? Most of us know he was leachurous. Doesn't negate his contributions.

[@JanetEsq]

Bravo

[@davidmarquardt2445]

The other thing that Franklin developed that is not so well known is a form of anti-counterfeiting printing using a interlocking leaf pattern. It was so sophisticated that only in recent times was the mechanism finely understood. True Franklin was not without faults, perhaps his most glaring was his terrible relationship with his wife and son. But this does not give him credit for ANYTHING he accomplished, it is so unbalanced that it damages it's own creditably. I am going to coin a new word here, to me it seems "Tabloidady"in it's writing.

[@brendanblessington6853]

I do not attempt to paint Franklin as a moral man, but any attempt to explain a significant historical figure, good or bad, should always tell the story without bias, and illustrate every aspect of the individual; when history becomes spun by prejudiced people, then a disservice is done.

[@jordanbarrett7754]

Yeah this series is known for omitting details

[@MattanzaMafiaFedora]

Please, do Wat Tyler! The Father of English Radicalism who lead the Peasant's Revolt! You've done an American Founding Father, why not an English Working Class Legend!

[@AGuyNamedSquid]

He did Cromwell, and Victoria

[@MattanzaMafiaFedora]

@@AGuyNamedSquid A hypocritical tyrant and a member of the establishment. Don't make me laugh.

[@devintietjen2646]

Little biased are we. im not saying that everything your saying is BS, because I know that some are. But do you realise that after talking about being a child slave, everything you talked about was how bad he was. I really like your work but I think you should check yourself on this one.

[@slavkovalsky1671]

Not the first time they're playing fast and loose with facts, both "little" like dates and kind of essential like things actually happening...

[@PaulCHarris]

Balloony Sinep The bad things they are saying about Ben are incorrect. it’s a hit piece. If you’ve been reading the comments, or knew anything about Ben Franklin you would realize this. That’s what people are upset about. it’s just annoying to listen to somebody being lied about.

[@hannahlove2017]

There's pretty much no certainty in history, tho. What we do have in recorded history is often RIDDLED with bias and is often hotly contested between historians and will again often have contradictory findings brought out months to centuries later proving them completely wrong. There's hundreds of crazy and bad stories of Ben Franklin and they're simply telling the ones they've heard. I don't think people are really using this video for academic research. It's mostly just for fun stories about historical figures.

[@baylorsailor]

This channel does opinion history often.

[@patrickredig5353]

Oh wow, this is kinda bad........

[@douglasvanderpool9605]

Um, in 1776 the American Revolutionary War was NOT won. We had to fight until 1781 and a treaty was not signed until 1783. Simon, you and your staff pride yourselves on being so accurate, but you’re not sometimes. This is but one of many little things that y’all should’ve corrected in post production not only in this video but others.

[@usayeed727]

I think he meant the Declaration of Independence by 1776 instead of the war. Although in hindsight it may seem that the declaration was akin to victory, chronologically it’s irresponsible for an information based channel to flounder over this distinction.

[@douglasvanderpool9605]

Exactly. It’s a small thing, but significant.

[@jason-gf8dg]

read the discription

[@kingrichardiii6280]

Well I have to thank Simon for at least making the video. and i did find it... interesting. How ever confusing as well. Franklin was no saint, even by his own admitting, but it seamed Simon took every possible controversy and ran with it. For example if Franklin took credit for inventions and discoveries that were not his word would have gotten out considering he never filed patents for the inventions. And I for one have never heard the one about Franklin spying for the British, he did act as an unofficial representative for Pennsylvania and for the other colonies to the British government where he at first supported British taxing and then advocated for the colonies in repealing the tax, but I hardly think that counts as spying. I am sorry to say this video reeks of shoddy research, even the "facts" not about Ben are ridiculous. 1776 was the end of the war? If anything that was when the war truly kicked off.

[@Hydroxica]

I too would have preferred a balanced approach. Some of the biggest things we hear from Ben Franklin were not talked about here and rather it was just a deep dive into every thing one could deem bad about Ben Franklin, proven or otherwise.

[@GeneralSamov]

Even when things do get out, some people still decide to ignore them. E.g. people still believe Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

[@Ophiotaurus_AKA_Bessie]

Just remember it’s not Simon who writes the scripts

[@kevez17]

I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I’d hear Simon say “mad lad”

[@stevethegeckotv]

kevin jobling he’s English. It’s a very English thing to say

[@kipperbill]

I thought I already had..

[@stefanavic6630]

Cue the music...

[@QueenetBowie]

Or “check himself before he wrecked himself”

[@fmotta4]

Dankula collab incoming?

[@douggolden255]

This comes off as a hit job on Franklin. I say this having read a couple of biographies, both of which addressed his lesser qualities.

[@Threeezzz]

The US War for Independence did not end in 1776. Ben Franklin did not go to bask in revolutionary glory. The French didn’t join the war until later with some convincing from Ben Franklin. (With this fact, I am highly doubting he was a British spy). The other Founding Fathers didn’t ostracize him for being a drunken-adulterer. He was invited to the Constitutional Convention. I understand you wanted to show Ben Franklin in a different light... But come on. It seemed like you didn’t do a lot of research.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

Yup, they didn't even mention his dealings with British Parliament and how those interactions convinced him that reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible. Also never even mentioned how he became estranged from his own son because that son was a staunch British loyalist.

[@sonnythirteen]

Ben “hide the salami” Franklin, lived a full life.

[@EpoxyCircus]

This video says almost as much about Simon and the writer as is does about Franklin.

[@RubyDoobieScoo]

No it says way more about Franklin. Simon has had plenty of praise for past American politicians like Theodore Roosevelt. It's not Simons or the writers fault that what you thought you knew about Benjamin Franklin was wrong.

[@EpoxyCircus]

Aside from the 16 siblings, not much here was news to me. My comment was alluding to is the nearly gleeful , mean spirited and at times misleading script and Simons delivery. Your anecdotal evidence to the contrary changes nothing,

[@alexanderirvine4002]

Nixon I don’t get why everyone is crapping on Simon. Blame the writer instead. I’m pretty sure Simon is just a narrator.

[@RubyDoobieScoo]

@@alexanderirvine4002 he's just the narrator but what he's saying is still correct, no idea why people are so defensive over Benjamin Franklin

[@wfellow1]

Ruby Doobie people are getting so defensive as you put it over Franklin because the video can not only get extremely easily verifiable facts about the American Revolutionary War correct but it has so many other eadily provable inaccuracies, rumors, slanders and outright lies included in the video.

[@2foodtrippers]

Getting an obvious fact like American revolutionary war dates wrong seriously undermines the credibility of this video.

[@z31drifterlf]

I was really hoping for "I'm not an American, I don't speak American" disclosure at the beginning of the video.

[@surlygirly1926]

Ha! That would have been appropriate.

[@pyroromancer]

respectfully, you guys need an editor

[@772fortpierce]

Shut up

[@tommorris5014]

That was respectful, I love all simons channels but there are multitudes of mistakes.

[@pupska23]

Today I Found Out: Ben Franklin created the Jersey Devil.

[@joeohler6069]

"A graduate under-employed, is a graduate burned." -Joe Ohler

[@alexfranklin7833]

Hey dude I'm a descendent of this guy How cool is that I'm in the same blood line as a founding father!!!

[@jasondantzler2708]

Awesome Alex.

[@MrEvanfriend]

Philadelphia was not the nation's capital in the 1730s. Mainly because the nation did not yet exist. And there's a lot of disingenuous stuff here - Benjamin Franklin helped negotiate the French alliance during the Revolution. The idea that he was a British double agent makes zero sense if you think about all of his contributions to the American cause. Yes, he partied. Yes, he was eccentric. But this focuses so much on the partying and eccentricity that it misses all of the important accomplishments.

[@WorthlessWinner]

It's more the way he laughs at "electricity is a fluid" that makes me scratch my head. I've seen a few history of science lecture series (colleges post lectures online) that posit this as a revolutionary advance, helping us to find "flow of charge" and "current." But I guess it isn't exactly 100% what we say now so it's wrong? This guy has such an agenda, he'll twist even good things Franklin did into bad things.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

And if he was secretly on the side of the British then why did he become estranged from his son, who was a staunch British loyalist? They also completely ignored Franklin's dealings with British Parliament, interactions that convinced him reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible. Not to mention they omitted the fact that Franklin was largely responsible for getting the French to support the American revolution. This video was a botch job.

[@MrEvanfriend]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 I agree. A total mess that managed to ignore all the important accomplishments in the man's life in favor of salacious rumor and outright nonsense.

[@WorthlessWinner]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 - he may well have been on the british side at some point but he certainly wasn't throughout

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

@@WorthlessWinner, if he was a double agent then he was a double agent who was actually on the side of the colonies, playing along with the British authorities for his own purposes.

[@xuperr4023]

I usually love your videos Simon and I'm totally open to the belief that Franklin was a thief and pervert, but this video seems to have a very strange negative bias towards Franklin. It is completely filled with radical claims without sources and very subjective stances using slim amounts of historical evidence about him. Many historians completely disagree with some of the claims you are making here, some of which seem like total fantasy. I hope you aren't getting your information from some radical political writer that is hellbent on demonizing our founding fathers - they are quite common. If it really came from Brilliant, then I am not impressed.... The specific bit of info that made me pause was where you said bones were discovered underneath his London house and which then was "blamed" on William Hewson. Hewson was running an anatomy school and researchers believe Franklin's residence was used as a laboratory of some sort.

[@guylee0]

I agree with you totally on this. Also, I believe that it was one of Simon's channels that covered the bones in the basement scenario and they reported a conclusion similar to yours. I responded when I first read your intelligent breakdown but I should have researched it.

[@makuangree2228]

He never gives sources in the form of internet links & sources but that wasn't a problem until he did it to someone you lied. He did what he always does told you what the general belief is and then mentions the background of those beliefs. For example: He said B.F wasn't the first to publish an almanac then told you who was (Leeds family). He said he wasn't the first person to experiment with electricity, he told you who was (Peter Collins). Said it wasn't his that created the "Franklin Stove" (there was already a version in the Louvre in Paris). I'm not saying you or him are wrong but it is consistent with his other video formats which indicates there isn't a bias.

[@Joker-jt3vn]

Maku Angree On the contrary, this video was particularly biased against Franklin. Did Franklin himself ever state that he “Invented” electricity, the stove, the almanac…? He gained celebrity from these things and so what? Was there any mention in this video about how such an “uneducated” individual gained such world-wide acclaim? Franklin became famous without the aid of social media, etc. because he was freaking brilliant! The slant in this video was horrible.

[@JaeshaunDT]

@@Joker-jt3vn to be fair just because something negative was said doesn't make it biased.

[@anansistirade5800]

Lol you don't like it because it the truth.

[@HikaruKatayamma]

You seriously can't even get the definition of Gout right? Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis that develops in some people who have high levels of uric acid in the blood. They think multiple things can trigger it, but there's no solid link specifically to alcohol.

[@ThePiotrekpecet]

"Dietary causes account for about 12% of gout, and include a strong association with the consumption of alcohol, fructose-sweetened drinks, meat, and seafood"

[@TheCharlescc]

Franklin didn’t meet Deborah until after he left Boston. He ran away from his apprenticeship and sailed for the city of brotherly love. He then made the first of many trips to Europe after meeting her, but they didn’t marry until after he returned. I couldn’t watch anymore after that. Ben is my favorite historical character so it started to hurt me after about four minutes.

[@IXDimitriXI]

happy 4th of July, over 243 years later and the Brits are still salty from drinking all that tea in Boston

[@alexnndder]

14:44 "living his best life" 😂 modern slang associated with a 1700's founding father 😭 and 15:10

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

R u a female

[@sparky6086]

Simon, As much as you love America, you never hesitate, to run it down! Business is business, I suppose. ...True, Ben Franklin didn't invent electricity, but he never claimed that. Franklin discovered, that electricity flowed as if it were a fluid. Before this, electricity was known for thousands of years, but was seen as a useless phenomenon at the least and a novelty at the most. After Franklin pointed out electricity flowing like water, light bulbs began to go off in scientists, engineers, and inventors heads, such as Michael Faraday, that, like water turning a water wheel to run a mill, electricity could be put to work. ...The most amazing thing about the light bulbs going off in their heads is, that it was well before the light bulb was invented!

[@JDWelch-wp6ie]

OK, now I must object. The American Revolution was not "won in 1776". And it didn't start in 1776, but 1776 is when the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, and was an incredible year in the War of Independence (I highly recommend McCulloughs "1776", and I think I've got the author's name wrong, but you'll recognize it when you see it, he writes good stuff). Which is something I cannot say about the author of this piece -- he may have written "good stuff"' in the past, but this is not one of them. This is a distortion of history by one group in an attempt to "correct" the distortions brought on by 240 years of the telling of the tale. That's why it's so important to read the materials that were written about Franklin by his peers (friends and foes, and he had plenty of both), and not a regurgitation of someone else's regurgitation of someone else's misrepresentations of events that happened before they were born (but not too much before, relative to where we are now). Read "The First American". THAT is Franklin's legacy, his greatest accomplishment (and not on his own, but he was pivotal to securing French (and by extension, Spanish) financial backing in the Colonies' war against their mutual enemy. And he did that in his 70's and 80's. In the 1780's. (Hint: It took many weeks to cross the Atlantic back then, in a wooden ship that could come under attack by British ships at any time, the biggest freaking navy ever!) Others have inflated Franklin to elevated status over the years. Franklin didn't have to in his time. He truly was a rock star back then, not for what he SAID he'd done, but by what others had witnessed him DO.

[@TheCptncrunchify]

A Redcoat doing a bio on Ben Franklin. How ironic haha

[@TheCptncrunchify]

@ludlow 889 1776 will commence again!

[@meteor09]

I'm glad to see others have picked up on the inaccurate and false information presented in this video. It is disappointing, as it makes it hard to trust anything Biographics said. If they are willing to distort the history with unverified claims, how can we trust any other content on this channel? It isn't about a small mistake, but that the author(s) seem to have an agenda behind the narrative they choose to propagate. I hope a new biography channel surfaces with a more evidence and honesty based platform. For anyone who will continue to watch Biographics but is looking for accepted facts, I highly recommend you check the point Biographics make in their videos.

[@chrisdebruin264]

Could you please do a biographic on Frederick "Fritz" Duquesne, an interesting South African who participated in several wars, and is best known for running the largest spy ring During WWII.

[@khanyangabase691]

Of course someone named Frederick, and then nicknamed Fritz, would be South African 🙄😂

[@ahuddleston6512]

I was just about to request this one... He was wild. 😉

[@robertjames-life4768]

Your “British” was showing a little on this one my friend. 😉

[@sky4149]

Wow really poorly done, almost like you have a vendetta against him. This whole video is raising questions about the legitimacy of your other content. You seem at certain parts to be using hearsay and even opinion, such as on his hand writing being large and intrusive like Hancocks despite it being much smaller. You guys should feel shame for your poor attempt at rewriting history with modern opinion.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

The idea he was a British double agent is laughable when you consider that he was the person who got French to support the American revolution and that he became estranged from his own son, who was a staunch British loyalist.

[@NikkyElso]

What did Ben Franklin do to you? *Pulls out a picture of a person* Point where the bad man touched you...

[@davidnitto9008]

Elso LMAO I thought the same. I love these documentaries and though Ben had his myriad faults Simon was clearly out for blood on this one, with terrible innacuracies

[@2HRTS1LOVE]

Eh, I'm not buying the spy thing so much. He knew signing the Declaration of Independence was a death sentence if they lost, "We must all hang together or we shall surely hang apart", something like that. In fact, most of those signers met grisly ends. Flipping the bird to the most powerful military on the planet is no small thing. Which is why we loudly celebrate victory every year, with explosions, booze, and hot dogs. That's American, bygod, and old Ben was an American original, warts and all.

[@WorthlessWinner]

I've watched and listened to a few lecture series on the history of science. Several universities put them up on their KZbin pages for instance. They almost all credit Franklin's idea of electricity being a fluid as a ground breaking discovery that helped advance the field. I'm guessing from this, that it was. That it isn't exactly right didn't stop us learning about the "flow" of charge and the "current" from that idea. Your urge to spit on Franklin's grave seems to be leading you to denigrate actual accomplishments he made for not being impossibly perfect.

[@JDWelch-wp6ie]

Worthless Winner -- Turns out the author of this piece is American. Makes me nervous about what our colleges and universities are cranking out. I've heard for years now how the radical left has taken over education to the point of mind control in our youths, but never really bought into the right's paranoia over it. Now, I'm a little more concerned. So, to me, this is either a well off kid with White Guilt, or someone else who is just angry, or (my personal opinion) someone who got their hands on one or two sources whose intent was to besmirch Franklin's reputation, and this Author took those ideas and ran with them, submitted this script, and no one at Biographics checked the facts represented in it. That's on them, and I hope they retract and redo this one.

[@russneho]

LMAO

[@surlygirly1926]

I agree - and this isn't the only instance of US-bashing on this channel - overt as well as covert.

[@kingrichardiii6280]

@@JDWelch-wp6ie I think it was that the researcher just found a few sources that were far out there. The researcher said that she learned all of the good things about Ben Franklin throughout her life and then researched for two weeks and was shocked at what she found. So I think she found out all the genuine flaws in Franklin's character (his indulgent lifestyle, eye for women and his talent for fudging facts in his publications) and then believed all the questionable controversies about Ben (stealing inventions and discoveries, spying for the British ect.)

[@MidnightMan5001]

I'm Big Ben Franklin and this shan't be pretty! Let me instruct you on how we battle in the city of Philly!!!

[@jktacoim5506]

You couldnt sell rick james a bag of crack your out of practice

[@josephgarrett5693]

My victorys more certain than death or taxes

[@MidnightMan5001]

Fact is you're a hack, wack QVC joke!

[@MarielaQue]

Biographics, faults and all, is fast becoming my favourite KZbin channel

[@unncommonsense]

This was so full of inaccuracies (American Revolution being over in 1776, Franklin going to France after that victory instead of during the war) that I can scarcely believe anything else about this subject, or anything on your channel. Misinformation is worse than no information.

[@bnkosu]

Takes a real tinfoil hat wearing crackpot to assert that Benjamin Franklin was a spy for England.

[@thinginground5179]

That must've taken a lot of uncommon sense.. I think it's time for you to tear down the wall mate.

[@Jdjdbxdj]

@@thinginground5179 nice gibberish, “mate”.

[@thinginground5179]

@@Jdjdbxdj You completely missed the reference. Also, stop starting arguments with my 1 year lesser self.

[@Jdjdbxdj]

@@thinginground5179 I’ll argue with whomever I want lol

[@Wkumar07]

There is a significant error. The Revolutionary War ended in 1781 not 1776. Unless I misunderstood what was being said.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

There are lots of errors/omissions in this video. They don't even bother to go into Franklin's dealings with the British Parliament, interactions that convinced him reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible.They also don't even mention that he was the key figure in getting the French to military support the American revolution. But then they try to sell you on the idea he was really a British double agent! Laughable.

[@kennbiggs9311]

It makes me sad that there’s so much incorrect information in this video. I’m glad that at 61 years of age, and a “history buff” all of my life, that I’m usually aware of Simon’s inaccuracies and plain misinformation.

[@Lloyds0765]

Amen. Leftism is a mental disorder.

[@jacobteel9768]

I would love to formally request a video about secretariat. This race won the Triple Crown and still holds the fastest times at each track!

[@FakingANerve]

...didn't they just do one? Or was that Seabiscuit?

[@Biographics]

@@FakingANerve IT was Seabiscuit kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6DJpoSKmNlnfqM.

[@tristanthomas5006]

Another form of exercise he got when he was old was: FUCKING ANYTHING THAT MOVED!!!!!!!

[@alexiswelsh5821]

The Revolutionary War ended in 1783, NOT 1776. 1776 was the year we decided to officially break from Britain, and they weren’t very happy.

[@clifftrainor6774]

Lol, Simon sooo hates U.S. History.

[@Legion849]

He hates Germans also.

[@darkchocolate1083]

Have you done a video on Andrew Jackson yet? I think it's a decent idea.

[@CitizenSnips69]

I’m pretty sure they have a video on TIFO about his dueling antics if you’re interested

[@romanadamenko6111]

I've been waiting for a Andrew Jackson video forever now.

[@washerwood8918]

@@romanadamenko6111 right?

[@kaylew108]

Fascinating man and subject

[@TonyDootjes]

@@kaylew108 Genocidal maniac and murderer yes

[@grandthanatos]

I don't know what's more surprising: that Ben Franklin had a hand in the creation of the Jersey Devil myth and the Hellfire Club, as well as that thing with the bodies, or that this video confuses the date American independence was declared from England with the date the American Revolution was won.

[@jason_samosa]

Simon I love your style, it’s wonderful to learn so much through these videos.

[@tengen3613]

Does this channel just look for anything negative about America and drill down on it?

[@XGreySkyX]

I would have to agree on the redo. Several inaccuracies.... 🤦‍♀️ Suggestion for the next vid? How about *the ten-dollar, founding father without father* Secretary Alexander Hamilton? 🥰

[@cap4877]

You Brits can try to cut him down. His genius is well known. He knew how to think.

[@tylercolston4803]

You get an A for effort and F for accuracy

[@dtaylor4200]

His autobiography is definitely worth reading

[@diypictures]

Does he talk about EVERYTHING?

[@joshburgess8540]

Benjamin Franklin would've been one of Reddit's most active trolls.

[@madelineburns4669]

Just as a Philadelphian I fee like I need to point out that the Franklin Institute is not a museum for or about Franklin, it’s a children’s science museum with some information about the life of their namesake.

[@gregorysigl5626]

He was a diplomat in France from 1776 to 1785 where he was able to obtain French support for the U.S.cause. So I don’t know how if he was a spy for the British he succeeded in being a spy for the British, by encouraging the French to declare a full out war on the British to help the US gain its independence.

[@gastropod557]

Holy crap! Now I am beginning to re-think a young George Washington chopping down a cherry tree and then admitting the same to his loving dad.

[@Legion849]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jameskosusnik1102]

Hey simon watching from alaska, but what are your thoughts about his "hellfire club" antics?

[@megabyteme5545]

He goes over that in a few other videos

[@RubyDoobieScoo]

It sounds fun.

[@ka8syv203]

“Ben Franklin: the only President who was never President”

[@hellofreckledgirl]

well this was disappointing

[@zuverzagmail]

Ive now lost confidence in the veracity of your videos, its sad to say...

[@AmbyJeans]

Oh wow I was scrolling through at the right time, this was just put up a minute ago! I always love hearing about Ben Franklin though. What an interesting man who had an interesting life. A madlad is quite accurate 😂

[@wfellow1]

Chalchiuhtlicue if you are basing your opinion of Ben Franklin on this video I would urge you to view a different video that is not riddled with errors that are easily searchable.

[@essm4179]

The revenge of the English against the American revolutionary who kicked the British Empire. The British believe that only they can WRITE history until Ben Franklin came along and beat them at their own game. What an irony

[@ericaolmos3446]

Could you be kind to let us now where you got all your information??

[@barirwin8559]

This channel is gone tabloid .

[@porkyfedwell]

Simon, unusually poorly researched! The Colonies didn't win their independence in 1776. That was merely the start; the Revolution wasn't won until 1782. You got a lot if other facts wrong, too, so your video comes off as that you have some vendetta against Franklin, so one wonders which other things you reported are also off? This video is not up to your unusual high standards.

[@AbbeyRoadkill1]

They didn't even go into his dealings with British Parliament at all (which is what convinced him that reconciliation between England and the colonies was not possible.) This is one of the most important episodes in American history and they completely omitted it.

[@porkyfedwell]

@@AbbeyRoadkill1 You're right - I hadn't noticed that.

[@JDWelch-wp6ie]

So, you're saying that a man in his 80's, who had just crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a rickety wooden ship AGAIN didn't deserve to "sit around and drink tea with the ladies"? Gee, what did your grandfather do in his eighties?

[@justinmcloughlin6375]

Ben Franklin was still America's number one first Player In management Position

[@Tteck12]

waited so long for you to do a video on him. i can finally die in peace

[@KillroyWasHere86]

Philly was not the capital of the 13 colonies.

[@russlehman2070]

Correct. There was no capital of the 13 colonies. Philadelphia was the capitol of the United States of America for a time before Washington, DC was built.

[@Operafiend22]

I've been waiting for this one...

[@brodyblackwell9594]

Awesome video! Keep up the good work!

[@kalenbogart4482]

Dude. Talk about a hatchet job. There’s plenty of reason to believe the Huson theory, and this was an extremely common practice at the time. I’m the first to admit that Franklin was a gross asshole, but come on man, he wasn’t a serial killer

[@animeviewer66]

Seems to me like you're just trying to slander the man's good name!

[@allisonbrown8613]

yay! Been excited for this one :D

[@patton1019]

This is the first time I've ever been disappointed in this channel. If you want to talk about the negative parts of Ben's life fine, but be accurate. He was a businessman, a skirt chaser, terrible husband, and less than stellar father. Every American knows this. But when a video gets such basic facts like the end of the Revolutionary war wrong, and dives into ridiculous conspiracy theories that make no sense when measured against Ben's actions taken during the war, including disowning his own bastard son for remaining a loyalist, then there is no choice but to remove the video and start over with a different writer.