Benjamin Franklin was born on 17 January 1706 in Boston. An American polymath born in Boston, Franklin was a printer, writer, scientist, inventor and diplomat. He became wealthy publishing Poor Richard's Almanack and the Pennsylvania Gazette, and he founded a library, a fire company and the institution that became the University of Pennsylvania. His experiments with electricity, including the study of lightning, led to the invention of the lightning rod, and he also devised bifocal glasses and a more efficient stove. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, he served as ambassador in France, where he helped secure the alliance that aided the American cause, and later helped negotiate the peace treaty with Britain. He also took part in the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Before and after
- 1704Founding of Gibraltar
- 13 August 1704Battle of Blenheim
- 28 October 1704Death of John Locke
- 1706Founding of Albuquerque
- 17 January 1706Birth of Benjamin Franklin
- 15 April 1707Birth of Leonhard Euler
- 30 April 1707Acts of Union 1707
- from 1 May 1707 to 1 January 1801Kingdom of Great Britain
- from 29 July 1707 to 21 August 1707Siege of Toulon
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 23 May 1568 to 30 January 1648Eighty Years' War
- from 25 April 1588 to 1 August 1588Spanish Armada
- from 28 December 1688 to 1 January 1689Glorious Revolution
- from 22 February 1700 to 10 September 1721Great Northern War
- 1713Peace of Utrecht
- from 16 December 1740 to 18 October 1748War of the Austrian Succession
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.