John Adams once shared a bed with Benjamin Franklin, and they argued all night about whether to keep the window open.

 John Adams once shared a bed with Benjamin Franklin, and they argued all night about whether to keep the window open.

In September 1776, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin traveled together to Staten Island as part of a failed peace delegation with Britain during the early stages of the American Revolution. 

On their journey, the two men stopped at a small New Jersey inn that had only one available room, and one bed. Adams, a New England lawyer known for his rigid habits, was forced to share it with Franklin, who was nearly 30 years his senior and famous for his unorthodox views on health and comfort.

According to Adams’ diary, the night quickly turned into a debate. Franklin insisted the window stay open to allow “fresh air,” arguing that night air was not dangerous, as many people then believed. Adams, adhering to the common 18th-century fear of “miasmas” or bad air causing illness, wanted it shut tight. Franklin, a lifelong advocate of ventilation, lectured Adams on his “theory of colds” until Adams finally gave in and let him keep it open.

Their conversation reflected more than just a clash of personalities, it revealed a genuine scientific divide of the era. Franklin’s writings on fresh air, exercise, and hygiene were decades ahead of their time, anticipating germ theory and public health reforms that wouldn’t emerge until the 19th century.

Added fact: Benjamin Franklin later published essays promoting the benefits of cool, circulating air and even described his habit of “air baths”; sitting naked in front of an open window each morning to improve health and mood, a practice that baffled his more prudish peers.

Historydictionary:

Miasma theory – The pre-germ-theory belief that diseases like cholera or the plague were spread by “bad air” arising from decaying matter.