Benjamin Franklin’s grandson used the revolutionary power of almanacs to spread radical political ideals

Science · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Benjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of the famous American polymath, leveraged the immense popularity of 18th-century almanacs to circulate radical democratic ideas. While newspapers were strictly regulated, these widely read publications reached four times the audience, allowing Bache to bridge the revolutionary fervor of France and the United States.

Born in 1769, Benjamin Franklin Bache spent his formative years in France and Geneva, returning to Philadelphia in 1785. Deeply influenced by his bi-cultural upbringing and radical politics, he sought to foster a sisterhood between his two homelands. Upon taking over his grandfather’s printing shop, he published the Philadelphia Aurora, but found that the rigid legal controls on daily newspapers limited his reach. He turned instead to the almanac, a staple of life that was second only to the Bible in popularity.

Bache’s 1797 publication of the French 'Calendrier républicain' was a direct attempt to export revolutionary ideology. This calendar was inspired by the Jacobins, who had used the medium to promote a new, secular concept of time. Designed by mathematician Charles Gilbert Romme, the Republican calendar replaced religious authority with the natural world. It began the year on the autumnal equinox, September 22, and decimalized time into ten-month years with ten-day weeks. Though wildly impractical, the project served as a potent symbol of the transition away from the Ancien Régime.

The use of almanacs to convey political messages was a calculated strategy. By the end of the 18th century, printers recognized that these books were not merely sources of practical information or entertainment, but powerful tools for public instruction. Bache’s 'Calendrier' differed from traditional almanacs by focusing almost exclusively on the politically minded. By marking years from momentous historical events rather than conventional dates, Bache and his contemporaries used the medium to reinforce the revolutionary identity of the new Republic, cementing his legacy as a pivotal, if controversial, figure in the politicization of the early American press.

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