In 1750 Benjamin Franklin, lifelong bibliophile, lover of knowledge, and founder of the University of Pennsylvania, gave the Penn Libraries one of its very first books. In honor of his 311th birthday, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of the publication that launched his life and career in Philadelphia, “The Elegy on the Death of Aquila Rose.” It is the last previously-missing major piece of Franklin’s printing to become available to scholars, and it marks the beginning of Franklin’s Philadelphia legacy.
