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Primary sourceNewspaper article16 April 1722

Silence Dogood Essay in the New-England Courant

Benjamin Franklin (as "Silence Dogood") · 16 April 1722

A newspaper essay by the teenage Benjamin Franklin, written under the pseudonym 'Silence Dogood' and published in his brother's newspaper.

Franklin wrote this essay as a teenager under a pseudonym, showing his early talent for writing and satire.

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Scanned newspaper column from the New-England Courant headed 'To the Author of the New-England Courant', beginning 'SIR, Histories of Lives are seldom entertaining'. An ornate decorative initial H with figures appears at upper left. The text is in dense eighteenth-century print.
Benjamin Franklin (as Silence Dogood), essay in the New-England Courant, 16 April 1722.

About this source

What it is

This is a column from the New-England Courant newspaper, dated 16 April 1722. It contains an essay signed with the pseudonym "Silence Dogood," actually written by the young Benjamin Franklin, whose brother James published the paper.

Why it matters

Franklin secretly submitted these essays as a teenager, pretending to be a middle-aged widow, so his brother would print them without knowing the true author. The essays show Franklin's early wit and skill as a writer, and his willingness to use tricks to get his voice heard before he became famous.

Look closer

  • Why might Franklin have hidden his identity behind a made-up character?
  • What does the decorative initial at the top of the column tell you about printing in this period?
  • What might this tell us about how young writers tried to get published in the 1700s?

This newspaper article is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Benjamin Franklin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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