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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 department and a university.
Benjamin Franklin | |
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6th President of Pennsylvania | |
In office October 18, 1785 – November 5, 1788 | |
Vice President | Charles 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 | New office |
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 |
Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly | |
In office May 1764 – October 1764 | |
Preceded by | Isaac Norris |
Succeeded by | Isaac Norris |
Member of the Pennsylvania Assembly | |
In office 1762–1764 | |
In office 1751–1757 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 100px January 17, 1706 Boston, Massachusetts Bay |
Died | April 17, 1790 84) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | (aged
Resting place | 100px |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Independent |
Spouse | Deborah Read |
Children | William Franklin Francis Folger Franklin Sarah Franklin Bache |
Parent |
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Profession | Printer-Publisher Writer Politician Scientist |
Signature | |
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 the Pennsylvania 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.
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