Benjamin Franklin
Most commonly known as one of the founding fathers of our nation, Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. He spent his early years attending school and at the young age of 10 had to stop because his family could not afford for him to continue. After school Ben worked for his father and when he was 12 he began an apprenticeship with his brother a printer who taught him the skills of that trade. At the age of 17 Ben ran away to the city of Philadelphia where he worked in several printshops and in 1928 he set up a printing shop and soon began publishing the Philadelphia Gazette. Franklin married in 1730 and had 3 children. While Benjamin enjoyed reading he also had success as an author and published the famous Poor Richard's Almanack. Franklin was also an inventor and invented many great creations, none of which were ever patented. His belief was that "... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously." Benjamin Franklin also became actively involved in politics, and was sent to London by the Pennsylvania Assembly as a colonial agent to protest against the political influence of the Penn family, the proprietors of the colony. Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1775 the American Revoultion was underway and Franklin was chosen as the delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In June of 1776 Franklin was amongst the party of 5 that drafted the Declaration of Independence. Franklin died on April 17, 1790, at age 84.