Ben Franklin states preference for the turkey as national bird 230 years ago today (Jan 26 1784)

(Monday, January 26, 1784) — In a letter to his daughter Sarah (also called “Sally”), Benjamin Franklin today expressed unhappiness over the choice of the bald eagle as the symbol of America, and stated his own preference: the turkey, calling it “a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America.”