He also charted and named the Gulf Stream current. society.Īs a scientist, his studies of electricity made him a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics. At some points in his life, he owned slaves and ran 'for sale' ads for slaves in his newspaper, but by the late 1750s, he began arguing against slavery, became an active abolitionist, and promoted the education and integration of African Americans into U.S. His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing French aid.įrom 1785 to 1788, he served as President of Pennsylvania. ambassador to France and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco–American relations. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired as the first U.S. Franklin became a hero in America when, as an agent in London for several colonies, he spearheaded the repeal of the unpopular Stamp Act by the British Parliament. He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics, as well as national and international affairs. He was appointed deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753, which enabled him to set up the first national communications network.

He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected its president in 1769.

He pioneered and was the first president of the Academy and College of Philadelphia, which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania. After 1767, he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle, a newspaper known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the policies of the British Parliament and the Crown. He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym 'Richard Saunders'. įranklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. Among the most influential intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first postmaster general. Delegate from Pennsylvania to the Second Continental CongressĢnd President of the University of Pennsylvaniaīoston, Massachusetts Bay, British AmericaĬhrist Church Burial Ground, Philadelphiaīenjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (Janu – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath, a leading writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher.

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