Benjamin Franklin
| Benjamin Franklin | |
|---|---|
| Portrait of Benjamin Franklin | |
| Born | January 17, 1706; Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America |
| Died | April 17, 1790 (aged 84); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Political affiliation | Nonpartisan (colonial/early national period) |
| Spouse | Deborah Read (m. 1730–1774) |
| Children | William Franklin; Francis Folger Franklin (died in childhood); Sarah Franklin Bache |
| Occupation(s) | Printer, author, inventor, scientist, diplomat, statesman |
| Major offices | U.S. Minister to France (1778–1785) President (Governor) of Pennsylvania (1785–1788) Postmaster General (1775–1776) |
| Known for | Electricity experiments; lightning rod; bifocals; Franklin stove; postal reforms; civic institutions; Poor Richard’s Almanack |
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath—printer, writer, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and statesman—widely regarded as one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the United States. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence, secured crucial French aid during the American Revolutionary War, and later guided compromise at the Constitutional Convention.
Early Life and Printing Career
Born in Boston as the fifteenth of seventeen children, Franklin apprenticed in his brother’s print shop and moved to Philadelphia as a young journeyman. He founded a successful press, published the Pennsylvania Gazette, and wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack, celebrated for practical wit and maxims. Prosperity enabled far-reaching civic projects: a subscription library, a volunteer fire company, improved street lighting, and support for schools and hospitals.
Science and Invention
Franklin became famous for experiments with electricity. He proposed the single-fluid theory, coined terms like battery and conductor, and demonstrated the identity of lightning and electricity—leading to the practical lightning rod. He also devised bifocal lenses and the Franklin stove. To promote inquiry he helped found the American Philosophical Society.
Civic Leadership and Colonial Politics
In Philadelphia, Franklin served as postmaster and pushed urban improvements. As a colonial agent in London for Pennsylvania and other colonies, he at first sought imperial reform. Britain’s postwar taxation policies and limits on self-government shifted him from reformer to leading advocate of colonial rights.
Revolution and Diplomacy
A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Franklin helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence (1776). Dispatched to Paris as U.S. Minister to France, he won financial and military support indispensable to victory, secured the Treaty of Alliance (1778), and later helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris (1783) ending the war.
Constitution and Later Years
Returning home, Franklin served as President (Governor) of Pennsylvania and as the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. His tactful speeches urged compromise to ensure union. In his final years he championed abolition, submitting a petition to Congress against slavery in 1790.
Legacy
Franklin’s blend of practical ingenuity, civic spirit, and diplomatic skill made him a lasting emblem of American possibility. His institutions—libraries, postal networks, and learned societies—endured, his inventions saved lives, and his writing shaped public culture.