Benjamin Franklin Grave

The grave is marked by a simple marble ledger tablet located in the northwest corner of Christ Church Burial Ground, where Franklin rests alongside his wife Deborah and their children in a family plot dating back to seventeen ninety.

Benjamin Franklin died on April seventeenth, seventeen ninety, and his funeral on April twenty-first drew an estimated twenty thousand mourners, including city officials, members of scholarly societies, and citizens from across Philadelphia.

Visitors follow a local tradition of tossing pennies onto the tombstone in reference to Franklin's saying about saving money, though this practice has contributed to surface deterioration of the marble marker over time.

The grave is located at the corner of Fifth and Arch Streets in the historic district of Philadelphia, with guided and self-guided tours available to visitors interested in exploring this eighteenth-century burial ground.

Franklin composed his own mock epitaph in seventeen twenty-eight describing his body as food for worms, reflecting his modest perspective on death and the temporary nature of physical existence despite his lasting achievements.

Location: Philadelphia

Address: Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

GPS coordinates: 39.95245,-75.14827

Latest update: November 27, 2025 07:36