When
the American Revolution began in 1775, Benjamin Franklin was the
obvious choice to take over the country’s mail system. That’s because
he was previously the Colonies’ postmaster general for the Crown. He
was appointed as America’s first-ever postmaster general on July 26, 1775. (We became the United States in 1776.)
As
Postmaster, Franklin was a dynamo – he standardized rates, surveyed
mail routes, slashed delivery times between major cities by half, and
more. He even donated his $1,000 salary to relief for wounded
Continental soldiers! Franklin’s work in taking over the
1997 Franklin Issue Honors 150 Years of U.S. Postage Stamps
Faithful Reproduction of U.S. #1 |
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mail system was rewarded in 1847 when he was pictured on the first official US postage stamp. He’s been honored on countless stamps over the years – even more than many former presidents…
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