Benjamin Franklin, Brief Bio

Posted by Tel Asiado Jan 17, 2008

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), inventor, scientist, statesman and diplomat, is remembered today. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. Franklin was a printer by trade, inventor and scientist by fame, stateman and diplomat, a man of action.

He worked in Philadelphia as printer, publishing the popular and witty Poor Richard's Almanac. He also made a number of inventions, and initiated a great many improvements in Philadelphia, including a fire company, a university, and a library.

As a statesman, Franklin represented Philadelphia at the Albany Congress, where he proposed that the colonies unite under an elected council, among others.

He spent many years in England as a diplomat before the American Revolution, in an attempt to reconcile differences between Britain and the colonies. Among other important matters he was involved with, he helped draft and sign the American Declaration of Independence. Franklin was one of the signers of the peace treaty in Paris, France, that ended the Revolution.