Francis Folger Franklin

Francis Folger Franklin
Posthumous portrait of Francis, possibly by Samuel Johnson, a neighbor of B. Franklin ,[1] c. 1736–37.[2]
Born	(1732-10-20)October 20, 1732 Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Died	November 21, 1736(1736-11-21) (aged 4) Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Cause of death	Smallpox
Resting place	Christ Church Burial Ground
Parent(s)	Benjamin Franklin Deborah Read
Relatives	Sarah Franklin Bache (sister) William Franklin (paternal half-brother)

Francis Folger Franklin (October 20, 1732 – November 21, 1736)^[a] was the son of Founding Father of the United States Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.

In 1736, four-year-old Francis contracted the smallpox virus and died shortly thereafter.

Benjamin Franklin, who had been inoculated earlier in his own life, had intended for his son to be inoculated as well. However, due to an illness affecting Francis at the time planned for his inoculation, the procedure was postponed.

His death devastated both his parents, who doted upon Francis, and after this incident, Franklin became "the most eloquent advocate of smallpox inoculation."^[4]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).