Benjamin Franklin - Printer As a child, Benjamin F. loved to read, write, and collect books; so when it came time to choose a trade, Ben's father decided Ben would become a printer. At the age of twelve, Ben started as an apprentice with Ben's older brother James. At the age of twenty-two, Ben opened his own printing shop. Ben's newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette became very popular and profitable. A few years later, Poor Richard's …showed first 75 words of 736 total…

…showed last 75 words of 736 total…prime and my health was starting to fail, at eighty-one, I was the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention. Upon signing the Constitution on September 17, 1787, I became the only Founding Father to have signed all five documents that established American independence: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, and the Constitution of the United States of America.