Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

Franklin rose from a Boston candle-maker's son to America's most celebrated citizen by doing one thing well: paying attention. He invented bifocals, mapped the Gulf Stream, and helped found a republic — not as separate projects but as expressions of the same practical curiosity. Poor Richard's Almanack reached more households than any other text in colonial America.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

Founder, Scientist, Printer · 1706–1790

He flew a kite in a thunderstorm, wrote almanacs for tradesmen, and helped found a republic — always asking what was useful, what was true, and what might be improved.

Benjamin Franklin