Benjamin Franklin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706
[O.S. January 6, 1705[1]] – April 17, 1790) was one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted
polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer,
political theorist,
politician,
postmaster, scientist, 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'. He formed both the first public
lending library in America and the first
fire department in Pennsylvania.
Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for
colonial unity; as a writer 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 and democratic 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 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. He was also partners with
William Goddard and
Joseph Galloway the three of whom published the
Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the
British monarchy in the American colonies.
[5] 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 a major 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 positive
Franco-American relations. For many years he was the British postmaster for the colonies, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network. He was active in community affairs, colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. From 1785 to 1788, he served as
governor of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he freed his slaves and became one of the most prominent
abolitionists.
His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America's most influential
Founding Fathers, have seen Franklin honored on coinage and
money;
warships;
the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies; and more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references.
