# Benjamin Franklin

## Biography

Benjamin Franklin was a prominent American polymath, a key Founding Father, and a significant figure of the Enlightenment. Born in Boston in 1706, he had limited formal education, leaving school at age ten to work for his father, a candlemaker, before becoming an apprentice printer to his brother. He later established his own successful printing business in Philadelphia, where he published The Pennsylvania Gazette and the widely popular Poor Richard's Almanack under a pseudonym.

Beyond his printing enterprises, Franklin was a prolific inventor and scientist, conducting pioneering experiments with electricity, famously with his kite experiment, and inventing practical items such as the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove. He also established numerous civic institutions in Philadelphia, including a library, the first fire department, and the academy that would become the University of Pennsylvania. In his later life, Franklin served as a respected diplomat in Europe, securing crucial French support for the American Revolution and playing a vital role in drafting the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Paris. He remained active in public service until his death in 1790.

## Books

- [Franklin's Way to Wealth: or, 'Poor Richard Improved'](https://samolit.com/books/96598)
- [The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin](https://samolit.com/books/96295)
- [Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin](https://samolit.com/books/95826)