Benjamin Franklin letters found in London

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- A political science professor from California says he found a batch of previously undiscovered letters from, to and about Benjamin Franklin in a London library.

Alan Houston uncovered the 47 letters while poring over manuscripts for a book he was writing on Franklin, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Houston, who teaches at the University of California at San Diego, said 18 of the letters were written by Franklin.

The professor said that as he looked over the letters he realized they were all unknown to historians.

"I felt a kind of lump in my chest," Houston said. "I started to bounce. I wanted, like a rocket, to shoot out of my chair."

The letters deal with Franklin's interactions with British Gen. Edward Braddock and his planned assault on the French at Fort Duquesne.

The Post says Houston's find is announced in the upcoming issue of the William & Mary Quarterly.