Founder of a nation, and public health initiatives

By Donald Smith

and John Alviti

In 1736, Benjamin Franklin's 4-year-old son, Francis Folger Franklin, died of smallpox. It was one of the great tragedies of Franklin's life. Francis, or "Frankie," was clearly an exceptional child for whom Franklin built great hopes in a short time.

In the 1730s, the English-speaking world was just learning about a practice called "variolation," an early kind of vaccination against smallpox that involved deliberately giving people the active virus. It was effective but not risk-free; 2 to 3 percent of people who tried variolation ended up dying from the disease. Still, those odds were better than the 20 to 30 percent fatality rate of people who contracted smallpox naturally.

Franklin had wanted to have his son vaccinated against the virulent disease, but the boy was sick with another illness, and Franklin decided to wait before giving him the vaccine.

In his Autobiography, Franklin bitterly regretted that decision: "In 1736 I lost one of my Sons, a fine Boy of 4 Years old, taken by the Small Pox in the common way. I long regretted that I had not given it to him by Inoculation, which I mention for the Sake of Parents, who omit that Operation on the Supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a Child died under it; my Example showing that the Regret may be the same either way, and that therefore the safer should be chosen."

Franklin went on to establish a charity dedicated to helping poor families get the inoculation treatment if they could not afford it.

On Friday, Philadelphia celebrates Benjamin Franklin's 310th birthday. The daylong celebration will examine Franklin's work in the field of public health, where many of his ideas still live on in institutions he helped create.

From today's perspective, Franklin's ideas about public health were incredibly progressive. His lasting legacies in health care include Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first public hospital, still in operation today and helping thousands of people each year. Franklin created the nation's first pharmacy there, too.

He was one of the first to determine that the common cold was not spread through wet clothes or damp conditions, but that those germs were transmitted through the air. Franklin is also responsible for developing a new catheter for hospital use - one that was more comfortable for patients.

What ties these accomplishments together is that Franklin never patented any of his inventions, bringing them into the world to benefit everyone, and not for his own profit or gain.

Perhaps most profoundly, Franklin's advocacy of public vaccination continues to resonate three centuries later, as some in our country still contend that the risks associated with vaccines outweigh the benefits. This is a battle that public health experts continue to fight - here in Philadelphia and beyond. As vaccine-preventable outbreaks (whooping cough, measles, mumps) have hit the news in recent months, it is clear that Franklin's powerful message still needs to be heard.

This year's birthday celebration pays special tribute to the enormous mark Franklin made on public health in America. In his name, we will honor a visionary in the world of vaccines who is a pediatrician in Philadelphia, Dr. Paul Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). As director of CHOP's Vaccine Education Center, Offit has been honored many times over for his work researching vaccine safety while publicly promoting the science that counters popular myths. He is a man whose work follows in Franklin's path - using his knowledge and expertise for the greater good.

If you visit Franklin's grave at the Christ Church burial ground in Old City, you will see a marker for Francis right next to his father's stone, with the epitaph "The delight of all that knew him." To the end of his own life, Franklin believed in the power of scientific investigation to solve problems and improve human life. As Franklin's painful personal experience demonstrated, the small risk we take as individuals provides enormous benefit to the greater whole.

Happy 310th birthday, Benjamin Franklin! As Philadelphians, we are proud to live in and among the many reminders of your ideas and institutions.

Donald Smith ( don.u.smith@gmail.com) and John Alviti ( jalviti@fi.edu) are the cochairs of Celebration! Benjamin Franklin, Founder (www.franklincelebration.org).