Remembering: Benjamin Franklin

On April 17, 1790, America and the world lose one of the greatest treasures when Benjamin Franklin died.

Under British rule, Franklin became a prominent leader in the New World. In Philadelphia, where he had chosen to reside, he helped found the first public library, police force, fire brigade, and an academy that later became the University of Pennsylvania. He helped grow and improve the local, and then later regional, postal system.

Franklin began Poor Richard's Almanack, filling it with useful and humorous information. In it he coined what have become some of the most famous phrases. He also the Pennsylvania Gazette, which even in Europe became known as one of the most reliable colonial newspapers.

His fascination with science, is still well known. He invented many things, including bifocals and the Franklin stove. He experimented with electricity, and greatly moved man's knowledge of it forward. In his scientific papers, Franklin created many terms in the field of electrical study, including battery, conductor, positive, and negative. Franklin became the first American scientist to be respected by Europe.

Throughout all this time he was active in colonial affairs as well. In 1754, he proposed a union of colonies, that would've established a joint parliament for the colonies. Even though that parliament would've still been subservient to the crown, such a move would've given the colonies partial independence, and so was quickly rejected by England.

Until 1775, he was often in England, arguing before Parliament for colonial rights. But in 1775, he did return to America, as he saw that war must come. In 1776, he was on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Afterwards, he became the ambassador to France, and succeeded in gaining treaties that brought France into the war as an American ally. Franklin would be one of the three Americans to sign the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war with Britain, and recognized American independence.

In 1785, he returned home and by 1787 was a member of the Constitutional Convention. He believed deeply in the Constitution and fought hard for it. Benjamin Franklin was without a doubt one of the greatest and most important Founding Fathers of America.