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"Lighthouses are more useful than churches."

— Benjamin Franklin

January 1, 1970

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Added on April 10, 2026

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Aphorists Engineers from the United States Founding Fathers of the United States of America Electrical engineers Governors of Pennsylvania

Original Language: English

Sources

Also quoted as “Lighthouses are more helpful than churches” or “A lighthouse is more useful than a church.” Although not by Franklin in this form, it may be intended as a paraphrase of something he wrote to his wife on 17 July 1757, given in a footnote on page 133 of Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin (1818). After describing a narrow escape from shipwreck he added: — The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin

Also quoted as “Lighthouses are more helpful than churches” or “A lighthouse is more useful than a church.” Although not by Franklin in this form, it may be intended as a paraphrase of something he wrote to his wife on 17 July 1757, given in a footnote on page 133 of Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin (1818). After describing a narrow escape from shipwreck he added: — The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere