Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jack Theodore Franklin was a prolific photographer since the early 1940¹s. After graduating from high school, Jack T. Franklin worked as a photographer and darkroom technician in the Merlin Studios in Philadelphia. He later worked as a photographer for the United States Army during World War II, photographing for the 1862nd Aviation Engineers in the South Pacific.

Initially, a self-taught photographer, Jack T. Franklin later studied photography at the U.S. Army Signal Corps Photographic Center in Astoria, New York, where he became an instructor. Upon returning to Philadelphia, after World War II, Jack T. Franklin became active in photographing social events and activities in the City of Philadelphia, in addition to regaining employment at the Merlin Studios, and becoming a major figure in photojournalism.