Benjamin Franklin
1777 Jean-Baptiste Greuze portrait of Franklin.
6th President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
In office 18 October 1785 – 1 December 1788
Preceded by	John Dickinson
Succeeded by	Thomas Mifflin
23rd Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly
In office 1765 – 1765
Preceded by	Isaac Norris
Succeeded by	Isaac Norris
United States Ambassador to France
In office 1778 – 1785
Appointed by	Congress of the Confederation
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
United States Ambassador to Sweden
In office 1782 – 1783
Appointed by	Congress of the Confederation
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	Jonathan Russell
Born	January 17, 1706(1706-01-17) Boston, Massachusetts
Died	April 17, 1790 (aged 84) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	British (at birth) American (at death)
Political party	None
Spouse	Deborah Read
Profession	Scientist Writer Politician
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Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1706] – April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. As a scientist he was a major figure in the Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. He invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, a carriage odometer, and a musical instrument. He formed both the first public lending library in America and first fire department in Pennsylvania. He was an early proponent of colonial unity and as a political writer and activist he, more than anyone, invented the idea of an American nation^[1] and as a diplomat during the American Revolution, he secured the French alliance that helped to make independence possible.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin learned printing from his older brother and became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia, becoming very wealthy, writing and publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin was interested in science and technology, and gained international renown for his famous experiments. He played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and Franklin & Marshall College and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society. Franklin became a national hero in America when he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament repeal the unpopular Stamp Act. An accomplished diplomat, he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations. From 1775 to 1776, Franklin was Postmaster General under the Continental Congress and from 1785 to 1788 was President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Toward the end of his life, he became one of the most prominent abolitionists.

Franklin's colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement, and status as one of America's most influential Founding Fathers, has seen Franklin honored on coinage and money; warships; the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies; and more than two centuries after his death, countless cultural references.