Only tangentially related, but David Hume and Benjamin Franklin were close friends. Franklin has always stuck me as a very modern thinker for his time, too. I'd long admired both Hume and Franklin, but didn't realize they were close friends until I dug in and read a Franklin biography a few years back.
Franklin actually stayed with Hume in Edinburgh for a while. I'm sure the Philadeplhia to London to Edinburgh trek was a tad more involved in the 1700s than it is today. :)
Great book and what an amazing human being! I remember it covered some of his time in England, but don't recall him staying with Hume. I read it quite a while ago though...
I started with that one - I liked Isaacson's writing when I read his Steve Jobs biography, so I decided to read his Franklin bio as well. I very much enjoyed it. Afterward, I read this one:
I think this one is probably where I read about his time with Hume. I don't find H.W. Brands' writing to be quite as smooth to read as Isaacson's, but I remember him covering parts of Franklin's life in greater detail. His bio of Ulysses Grant was a great read, too:
I admit I've never been terribly interested in Grant, maybe I should give him a look. Tough when there's an infinite abundance of great literature. We're truly spoiled.
Franklin actually stayed with Hume in Edinburgh for a while. I'm sure the Philadeplhia to London to Edinburgh trek was a tad more involved in the 1700s than it is today. :)