Benjamin Franklin - Boston, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 21.496 W 071° 03.794
19T E 330086 N 4691617
A marble bust of Benjamin Franklin is located in the Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House at 24 Beacon Street, Boston, MA.
Waymark Code: WMN19R
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 12/06/2014
Views: 2
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, MA on January 17, 1706. At age 17 he left home and moved to Philadelphia where he worked as a printer. He excelled in many fields and is recognized as a polymath for his accomplishments as an author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, first Postmaster General of the United States, Ambassador to France, and Delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He one of the most famous Founding Fathers of the United States.
A 23" by 19" by 16.5" marble bust of Benjamin Franklin created by Horatio Greenough around the year 1840 is located in a niche across from the entrance to the visitors area of the Senate Chamber of the Massachusetts State House. The sculpture is probably modeled after a but of Franklin by Giuseppi Ceracci. It shows the head and shoulders of Franklin without additional ornamentation. The bust rests on a circular tapered plinth which sits on a 2 foot square by 2 foot tall marble base. The base is inscribed with the name FRANKLIN.
The sculpture was given to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by Horatio S. Greenough, the son of the sculptor, in 1898.
The Massachusetts State House is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. All visitors must enter through the General Hooker entrance.