Who was the oldest delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention?

Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.

Franklin was 81 years old when the convention met in Philadelphia. He represented Pennsylvania and was already internationally known as a printer, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and former president of Pennsylvania. His age and health sometimes made it difficult for him to speak, so other delegates occasionally read statements he had prepared.

Franklin served on the convention’s Committee of Style and Arrangement, which helped prepare the final wording of the Constitution. On the last day, he urged the delegates to sign despite their disagreements. A story associated with the convention says Franklin pointed to a sun painted on the back of George Washington’s chair and remarked that he had wondered whether it was a rising or setting sun; the anecdote’s exact wording and authenticity have been debated. Franklin was not a delegate from Massachusetts and was not the convention’s presiding officer—that role belonged to Washington. Franklin’s distinctive achievement was being the convention’s oldest participant and one of its most experienced public figures.