Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was an American inventor, scientist, writer, and statesman who helped found the United States. He lived from 1706 to 1790. He was one of the most famous people of his time, both in America and in Europe. His face appears today on the one hundred dollar bill.

Franklin was born in Boston, the fifteenth of seventeen children. His family could not afford to keep him in school past age ten. At twelve, he became an apprentice in his older brother's print shop. He learned to set type, run a press, and write articles. At seventeen, he ran away to Philadelphia. Within a few years he owned his own printing business there.

Franklin became famous as a writer. Each year he published a small book called Poor Richard's Almanack. It was full of weather guesses, calendars, and short sayings. Many of those sayings are still used today, like "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

He was also a serious scientist. In the 1740s, he became fascinated by electricity, which almost no one understood yet. In 1752, he flew a kite during a thunderstorm to test whether lightning was a form of electricity. A key tied to the kite string gave off a small spark when storm clouds passed over. The experiment showed that lightning and electricity were the same thing. The kite story is famous, though some historians think the test may have been less dramatic than the legend says. Franklin then invented the lightning rod, a metal pole that protects buildings by guiding lightning safely into the ground.

His inventions kept coming. He designed a wood-burning stove that heated houses better while using less wood. He invented bifocal glasses. He created the first public library in America, the first volunteer fire company, and one of the first hospitals. He never patented any of his inventions. He believed they should be free for everyone to use.

In his later years, Franklin turned to politics. He helped write the Declaration of Independence in 1776. During the Revolutionary War, he traveled to France and convinced the French king to send soldiers, ships, and money to help the Americans win. Without that help, the war might have been lost. After the war, he helped write the United States Constitution in 1787. He was 81 years old, the oldest person to sign it.

Franklin died three years later. Twenty thousand people came to his funeral, the largest Philadelphia had ever seen.