1706-1790

American Scientist, Inventor and Statesman

Benjamin Franklin is one of the best known Americans of the eighteenth century. He made significant contributions to a number of fields, including playing a major role in the founding of the United States as an independent nation. In science and technology, he is remembered for his work in the theory of electricity and his many practical inventions.

Franklin was the eighth of ten children in a poor family in Boston. He educated himself through his extensive reading. Initially working for his brother on a Boston newspaper, at 17 he went to Philadelphia, where he worked as a printer, eventually buying his own press. He was so successful that he was able to retire at the age of 42. His financial security resulted from the success of his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, and the popularity of Poor Richard's Almanack, his book of...