by Ted Sherman

Created on: April 22, 2008   Last Updated: December 05, 2008

How do you pick the most noteworthy from the thousands of famous and infamous Philadelphians? For the sake of brevity, I'll limit my list to a dozen or so of my own choices. I'll attempt to be fair and list just a few of those who made Philadelphians proud. Born and educated in the City of Brotherly Love, I consider myself somewhat of an authority, at least on the famous oldtimers.

However, since I am somewhat elderly and a stick-in-the-mud traditionalist, I won't include any of Philly's well-known criminals, politicians, sports heroes or rock stars. That could be the task of a much younger writer who wouldn't want to consider any Philly heroes who lived before the 1990s.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Therefore, I start my list with my favorite, Ben Franklin (1706-1790). Although born in Boston, Ben came to town as a teenager and the rest is history. You can't wander anywhere in the city today without seeing his name: the Franklin Parkway, the Franklin gravesite, the Franklin House, the Franklin Institute, the Franklin statue at the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin Street in North Philly and a bunch of stores and businesses with Franklin in their names.

In addition to his career as a printer, pamphleteer, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, diplomat and lover of royal French ladies, he was also a prolific scientist. Along with the Franklin stove, his many inventions include bifocals, the lightning rod (remember his kite flying act?), the medical catheter and the rocking chair. He also founded the first American public library, which today, of course, is on the Franklin Parkway.

BETSY ROSS

When most school kids think of Philadelphia history, the name of Betsy Ross (1752-1836) always pops up. In their little minds is the picture of prim and proper maiden lady Betsy sewing the very first stars and stripes flag as General Washington hovers above her. Actually this may be perfectly true, because the Rosses were close pals with Washington when he was in town during the Revolutionary War, sat in the pew next to the General in Christ's Church, and afterward saw him frequently when his duties as the first President took him to Philadelphia.

Despite the legends, Betsy was no little old seamstress at the time. She was in her mid-twenties, a successful businesswoman who made custom furniture with her first husband, John Ross. Betsy Griscom Ross was born a Quaker, but angered her family when she eloped with Anglican John Ross. After Ross was killed at the beginning of the Revolutionary

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>