Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was an American polymath, statesman, scientist, inventor, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Born in Boston as the fifteenth of seventeen children, Franklin received little formal schooling and educated himself through voracious reading. He began his career as a printer's apprentice and later established a successful printing business in Philadelphia.

Franklin's literary contributions remain highly influential. His most celebrated work, "Poor Richard's Almanack" (1732–1758), published under the pseudonym Richard Saunders, contained witty aphorisms and practical wisdom that helped shape American values of thrift, diligence, and self-reliance. His "Autobiography," written between 1771 and 1790, is regarded as a classic of American literature and a pioneering work of self-improvement writing. He also published "The Pennsylvania Gazette," which became one of the most prominent newspapers in the American colonies.

Beyond literature, Franklin achieved groundbreaking scientific accomplishments, most famously his experiments demonstrating that lightning is a form of electricity, which inspired his invention of the lightning rod. He also created bifocal glasses and the Franklin stove. As a statesman, he helped draft the Declaration of Independence and secured vital French support during the American Revolution. Franklin died in 1790, leaving an enduring legacy as the embodiment of the American Enlightenment.