was the author of about 20 political pamphlets, but the great interest attaching to him is his reputed authorship of the Letters of Junius.  These letters which, partly on account of the boldness and implacability of their attacks and the brilliance of their literary style, and partly because of the mystery in which their author wrapped himself, created an extraordinary impression, and have ever since retained their place as masterpieces of condensed sarcasm.  They appeared in The Public Advertiser, a paper pub. by Woodfall, the first on January 21, 1769, and the last on the corresponding day of 1772, and were chiefly directed against the Dukes of Grafton and Bedford, and Lord Mansfield; but even the king himself did not escape.  Not only were the public actions of those attacked held up to execration, but every circumstance in their private lives which could excite odium was dragged into the light.  Their authorship was attributed to many distinguished men, e.g. Burke, Lord Shelburne, J. Wilkes, Horne Tooke, and Barre, and recently to Gibbon; but the evidence appears to point strongly to F., and, in the opinion of Macaulay, would “support a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal trial.”  It rests upon such circumstances as the similarity of the MS. to what is known to be the disguised writing of F., the acquaintance of the writer with the working of the Sec. of State’s Office and the War Office, his denunciation of the promotion of a Mr. Chamier in the War Office, which was a well-known grievance of F., his acquaintance with Pitt, and the existence of a strong tie to Lord Holland, the silence of Junius when F. was absent, and resemblances in the style and the moral character of the writer to those of F.

FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN (1706-1790).—­American statesman, philosopher, and writer, was one of a numerous family.  His f. was a soap-boiler at Boston, where F. was b. He was apprenticed at the age of 13 to his brother, a printer, who treated him harshly.  After various changes, during which he lived in New York, London, and Philadelphia, he at last succeeded in founding a successful business as a printer.  He also started a newspaper, The Gazette, which was highly popular, Poor Richard’s Almanac, and the Busybody Papers, in imitation of the Spectator.  After holding various minor appointments, he was made deputy Postmaster-General for the American Colonies.  In 1757 he went to London on some public business in which he was so successful that various colonies appointed him their English agent.  In the midst of his varied avocations he found time for scientific investigation, especially with regard to electricity.  For these he became known over the civilised world, and was loaded with honours.  In 1762 he returned to America, and took a prominent part in the controversies which led to the Revolutionary War and the independence of the Colonies.  In 1776 he was U.S.  Minister to France, and in 1782 was a signatory of the treaty which confirmed the independence of the States.  He returned home in 1785, and, after holding various political offices, retired in 1788, and d. in 1790.  His autobiography is his chief contribution to literature, and is of the highest interest.