Franklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, author, teacher, and reformer who played a significant role in both the abolitionist movement and the preservation of American transcendentalist history. Born in 1831, Sanborn became a key social scientist of his era, dedicating much of his life to addressing the pressing social issues of the nineteenth century. In 1865, he founded the American Social Science Association, an organization established to systematically study and treat the major social problems of the day.\n\nSanborn is highly regarded as a memorialist of the American transcendentalist movement. He authored early, crucial biographies of several of the movement's leading figures, helping to cement their legacy in American literary history. His close ties to these intellectual circles ran parallel to his radical political activism.\n\nAs an ardent abolitionist, Sanborn was a member of the "Secret Six" (also known as the "Committee of Six"), a group of influential men who secretly funded John Brown's historic raid on Harpers Ferry. Sanborn played a pivotal role in this conspiracy by introducing Brown to the other members of the committee. Throughout his life, Sanborn remained a dedicated, if occasionally stern, figure in American intellectual and political reform.
