Born: January 17, 1706, Boston
Died: April 17, 1790, Philadelphia
Full name: Benjamin Franklin
Education: Boston Latin School (1714 – 1716)
Spouse: Deborah Read (m. 1730–1774)
Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston in what was then known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His father, Josiah Franklin, a soap and candle maker, had 17 children, seven with first wife, Anne Child, and 10 with second wife Abiah Folger. Benjamin was his 15th child and the last son.
Franklin’s prominence and success grew during the 1730s, especially with the publication of Poor Richard’s Almanack at the end of 1732. Franklin amassed real estate and businesses, organized the Union Fire Company to counteract dangerous fire hazards, established a lending library so others could share his passion for reading, and was elected Grand Master of the Pennsylvania Masons, clerk of the state assembly and postmaster of Philadelphia.
Franklin was tapped as a foreign diplomat and represented the Pennsylvania Assembly, and subsequently Massachusetts, Georgia and New Jersey, in England, but he continued to work toward colonial union and in 1766 supported the repeal of the Stamp Act.
In 1775, Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and as postmaster general for the colonies, having mapped the postal routes in 1762. And in 1776, he was one of five men to draft the Declaration of Independence. Franklin was also one of the 13 men who drafted the Articles of Confederation.
In 1775, Franklin was elected to the Second Continental Congress and as postmaster general for the colonies, having mapped the postal routes in 1762. And in 1776, he was one of five men to draft the Declaration of Independence. Franklin was also one of the 13 men who drafted the Articles of Confederation.
Much has been made of Franklin’s life in Paris as essentially the first U.S. ambassador to France, chiefly his romantic life. Deborah, his wife of 44 years, died in 1774, two years before he accepted the post, and Franklin had a rich romantic life in his nine years abroad. He even proposed marriage, to a widow named Madame Helvetius, at the age of 74, but she rejected him.
Franklin was embraced in France as much, if not more, for his intellectual standing in the scientific community and for his wit, as for his status as a political appointee from a fledging country. His reputation facilitated respect and entrees into closed communities, including that of King Louis XVI. And it was his adept diplomacy that led to the peace treaty with England in 1783 and other foreign alliances and trade treaties.
After almost a decade in France, Franklin returned to America in 1785. He was elected to represent Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention, which drafted and ratified the new U.S Constitution, and participated in electing George Washington as the country’s first president, inaugurated in April 1789.
Franklin was embraced in France as much, if not more, for his intellectual standing in the scientific community and for his wit, as for his status as a political appointee from a fledging country. His reputation facilitated respect and entrees into closed communities, including that of King Louis XVI. And it was his adept diplomacy that led to the peace treaty with England in 1783 and other foreign alliances and trade treaties.
After almost a decade in France, Franklin returned to America in 1785. He was elected to represent Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention, which drafted and ratified the new U.S Constitution, and participated in electing George Washington as the country’s first president, inaugurated in April 1789.