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Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Scientist)
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Benjamin Franklin may have been the most remarkable American ever to live: a printer, scientist, inventor, politician, diplomat, and--finally--an icon. His life was so sweeping that this comprehensive biography by H.W. Brands at times reads like a history of the United States during the 18th century. Franklin was at the center of America's transition from British colony to new nation, and was a kind of Founding Grandfather to the Founding Fathers; he was a full generation older than George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, and they all viewed him with deep respect. "Of those patriots who made independence possible, none mattered more than Franklin, and only Washington mattered as much," writes Brands (author of a well-received Teddy Roosevelt biography, T.R.: The Last Romantic). Franklin was a complex character who sometimes came up a bit short in the personal virtue department, once commenting, "That hard-to-be-governed passion of youth had hurried me frequently into intrigues with low women that fell in my way."
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Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most important Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. Considered the earliest of the Founders, Franklin was noted for his curiosity, ingenuity and range of interests. His wit and wisdom is proverbial to this day. More than anyone he shaped the American Revolution despite never holding national elective office. As a leader of the Enlightenment he had the attention of scientists and intellectuals all across Europe. As agent in London before the Revolution, and Minister to France during, he more than anyone defined the new nation in the minds of Europe.
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In 1776 Benjamin Franklin [H]elped draft the Declaration of Independence and soon after set sail for Paris, sent by the Continental Congress to negotiate a treaty with the French. He was welcomed with great enthusiasm, for his fame had preceded him—fame not as a statesman but as a scientist. He was already one of the eight foreign associates of the French Academy of Sciences (a century would pass before another American got this rare honor). As the "Newton of electricity" whose theories, experiments and lightning rods were known the length of Europe, Franklin was given a respectful hearing. Deliberately simple in dress and manner, sparkling with wit and homely wisdom, Franklin quickly convinced his audience that he—and by extension the newborn United States of America—embodied unspoiled virtue. He became perhaps the chief factor in winning the support of the French government and its fleet, support which proved decisive in the War for Independence.
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In the Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin dared to declare his 13 principles of virtuous living essential to lasting prosperity. “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters,” he warned. Nevertheless, he remained upbeat. “America is too enlightened to be enslaved.” Franklin used his autobiography and maxims to promote such virtues as honesty, hard work, thrift, doing good to others, and the power of a good reputation. He more often than not utilized the power of reward in getting others to cooperate rather than relying on the power of punishment.
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Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. His accomplishments as scientist, publisher and statesman are particularly remarkable when considered in the context of colonial North America, which lacked the cultural and commercial institutions to nourish original ideas. A spirit of pragmatic innovation imbued all of Franklin's intellectual, social and scientific pursuits. He dedicated himself to the improvement of everyday life for the widest number of people and, in so doing, made an indelible mark on the emerging nation.
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Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the tenth son of Josiah, a candle purveyor, and Abiah Folger. Educated at Boston Grammar School, Benjamin apprenticed with his father, and then his half-brother, Peter, a controversial printer in Boston. Young Franklin struck out on his own in 1723 eventually finding employment as a journeyman printer in Philadelphia.
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Benjamin Franklin (Franklin, Benjamin - Scientist)