Ben Franklin

[Ryabusa]

Back in High School my best friend’s older brother told ust that his History teacher was one of those “really cool” teachers that would tell his class stuff other teachers would not. One of the “facts” he relayed to us was that Ben Franklin had a thing for young boys. He even said that it was in some book about odd historical facts. While I can’t say I don’t believe that it’s possible (very little surprises me) I have never heard any other confimation on this and would hate to think that I have had that terrible impression of someone completely undeserved. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Revtim]

I heard he had a thing for older women. “All cats are grey in the dark” or somesuch thing.

[Ryabusa]

Perhaps he was just extremely open minded.

[Coda]

Well first of all, Welcome.

And as I am not a historian, but I do seem to remember after Ben Franklin’s reputation was fogged by the Hutchinson Affair:

The Hutchinson Letters Affair began in December, 1772 when Ben anonymously received a packet of letters. The letters were written to the British government by Thomas Hutchinson, the royal Governor of Massachusetts. In the letters, Hutchinson urged his superiors to send more troops to Boston to fight the American rebels. Ben felt that his friends in Boston should know what Hutchinson was planning. He allowed his American friends and colleagues to read the letters on the condition that they not be circulated or published. However, the content of the letters did get published in the Boston Gazette in June of 1773.

He was reported to have had ‘things’ dug up about him that were less than appropriate for the time. One of those things was a fondness for young men. But I wouldn’t go as far as to call ol’ben a sodomite, but hey maybe he dabbled in the taste of nuts an honey from time to time.

Try a google search for more.

[Sparc]

He was naturalist who liked ‘air baths’, he reputedly enjoyed frequenting brothels, liked to electrocute keys, and had many other less than ordinary habits… but that he would have been a pederast was news to me.

Sparc

[tomndebb]

Ben was quite famous–nearly notorious–for his love of the ladies. This does not preclude an affection for young males, but given how widespread was the knowledge of his heterosexual affairs, I would think that some knowledge of any other activities would have been more widely circulated. (Especially since it might have been a rather effective means by either the British or the anti-Federalists to silence him.)