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Benjamin Franklin
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For other uses of "Benjamin Franklin", "Ben Franklin" and "Franklin", see Benjamin Franklin (disambiguation) and Franklin (disambiguation).

Benjamin Franklin

6th President of Pennsylvania
In office
October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788
Vice PresidentCharles Biddle
Thomas Mifflin
Preceded by John Dickinson
Succeeded by Thomas Mifflin
United States Minister to France
In office
September 14, 1778 – May 17, 1785
Appointed by Continental Congress
Preceded by New office
Succeeded by Thomas Jefferson
United States Minister to Sweden
In office
September 28, 1782 – April 3, 1783
Appointed by Congress of the Confederation
Preceded by Newoffice
Succeeded by Jonathan Russell
1st United States Postmaster General
In office
July 26, 1775 – November 7, 1776
Appointed by Continental Congress
Preceded by New office
Succeeded by Richard Bache
Personal details
Born January 17, 1706
Boston, Massachusetts Bay
Died April 17, 1790 (aged 84)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Political party Independent
Spouse(s)Deborah Read
Children William Franklin
Francis Folger Franklin
Sarah Franklin Bache
Profession Scientist
Writer
Politician
Signature
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705][Note 1][Note 2] – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist,musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and the glass 'armonica'.[1] He facilitated many civic organizations, including a fire departmentand a university.
Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity; as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies, then as the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.[2] Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift,hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat."[3] To Walter Isaacson,this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."[4]
Franklin, always proud of his working class roots, became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies.[5] He was also partners with William Goddard and Joseph Galloway the three of whom published thePennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British monarchy in the American colonies.[6] He became wealthy publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin gained international renown as a scientist for his famous experiments in electricity and for his many inventions, especially the lightning rod. He played amajor role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society. Franklin became a national hero in America when he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of...