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University Communications

Journalist and Author to Deliver Peple Lecture on Benjamin Franklin

January 28, 2005

James Srodes, author of “Franklin: the Essential Founding Father,” will deliver the annual Edward C. and Mary Peple Lecture at the University of Richmond.

Srodes will speak on “Franklin and His Internet, His Greatest Invention.” The event, sponsored by the Friends of Boatwright Library, is free and open to the public. It will take place in the Jepson Alumni Center, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. A reception will follow.

Srodes said he will talk about how “Franklin created a uniquely American culture that made independence from England inevitable. His ‘internet’ was the combining of the printing press with the vastly improved postal delivery service through the colonies and the use of a uniquely American language.”

According to Srodes, “Franklin’s founding of free libraries and colleges, his work on a phonetic alphabet and his friendship with a young Noah Webster all transcend his discovery of electricity, his inventions and his political triumphs.”

Srodes has had a 40-year career in Washington, D.C., as a financial journalist and broadcaster, covering White House economics and writing for United Press International, Forbes magazine and Financial World. He also is author of eight books, including a biography of Allen Dulles and a book dealing with hostile takeovers.

The Peple Library Lectureship annually brings to the University of Richmond nationally recognized librarians and scholars to speak with faculty, students, alumni and friends.