For one of the most famous statesmen of all time, Benjamin Franklin had some relatively humble beginnings. His father, Josiah Franklin, made soap and candles. It wasn’t considered a prestigious art, but it provided a middle-class upbringing for Franklin and his many, many siblings. Josiah had seven children with his first wife, Anne Child, and then 10 more — including Benjamin — with his second wife, Abigail Folger. That’s 17 children all together. Benjamin was Josiah’s youngest son, and his third-youngest child.

Franklin didn’t actually meet all his siblings; his last two half-siblings, both named Joseph, died at less than a month old, and the two brothers that came just before him died before Franklin was born. But he still grew up in quite a large family. “I remember thirteen sitting at one time at his [Josiah’s] table, who all grew up to be men and women, and married,” he recalled in his autobiography.

As the youngest boy — “the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations back,” Franklin noted — the future founding father wasn’t supposed to be ambitious. His formal education ended when he was about 10 years old, after which he spent two years working for his father. Because he loved reading, at age 12 he became an apprentice to his half-brother James, who taught him the printing trade. This launched his illustrious career; he eventually opened his own press, started the Pennsylvania Gazette newspaper, and launched Poor Richard’s Almanack. As he gained prestige in his business endeavors, he became more involved in civic life, and the rest is, as they say, history.