Born:
January 17, 1706
Birthplace:
Boston, Massachusetts Bay
Nationality:
American
Contributions:
Lightning rod,
Bifocals,
Franklin stove
Benjamin was the first American physicist to characterized two kinds of electric charge which he named “positive” and “negative.”
He earned the title of "The First American" for his early and untiring campaigning for colonial unity
He signed the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War and the Constitution of the United States.
In 1750 he published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning is electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm and electrical experiments led to his invention of the lightning rod.
Franklin, always proud of his working class roots, became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies.[6] With two partners he published the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British policies. He became wealthy publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and The Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin was also the printer of books for the Moravians of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (1742 on). Franklin's printed Moravian books (printed in German) are preserved, and can be viewed, at the Moravian Archives located in Bethlehem. Franklin visited Bethlehem many times and stayed at the Moravian Sun Inn.
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 as agent for several colonies he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament in London 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. His efforts