Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was born in Boston Massachusetts on January 17. He got his first job as an apprentice of his brother in 1718. However he did not enjoy this job and as a result at age 17 in 1723 he ran away to Philadelphia. He later opened his own printing business there and eventually became the owner of the Pennsylvania Gazette. In 1730 he wed Deborah Read Rogers and one year later she birthed his first son William, his second son was born just a year after the first. This same year, 1732, he begins publishing Poor Richard: an Almanac. Franklin establishes his ideas for the University of Pennsylvania in 1743. In 1747 his experimentation with electricity begins. This forces him to retire from printing. While watching a storm, Franklin believed that lightning was just an electrical current. To test his theory he came up with the now famous key and kite experiment. He tested his kite in June of 1752, and this is when Ben Franklin discovered electricity, today many of his ideas and experiments are still being used for the study. In 1775 after several trips to Europe Franklin was elected to be on the Continental Congress. Here is where Franklin left his mark on American History. He was considered a moderate voice at a time of dissention. He had a clear vision for the future of the country and used his skill given to him to shape the U.S. government. He is the only man to have signed all four documents that created America (Declaration of Independence, Treaty of Alliance Amity, and Commerce with France, Treaty of Peace between England, France, and U.S. and the Constitution). He was the most involved person in the birth of the nation. Franklin was one of the most admired men of his time. Besides setting up the American government he was also interested in making the lives of people more enjoyable. He set up a post system in Philadelphia and America�s first fire insurance company.
Today Franklin is known as one of the most important figures in American history. He is one of the original Founding Fathers, and pioneer for American government. Many of his quotes and famous sayings are still used and recognized today by all Americans. But contrary to what many people think he was not only and inventor and a politician, he was obviously an accomplished printer as well as musician, philosopher, and economist. His skill in music is not well known but he was able to play the guitar violin and harp. He was mesmerized by the work of Beethoven and Mozart. His impact on economics is shown everyday, as his face appears on the one hundred dollar bill. He believed in hard work to earn your keep, this idea became known as the �American Dream.� He is of course the only man to appear on a bill that was never a president. This only ensures his place as one of the, if not the most important person in American History. It is obviously Benjamin Franklin impacted the history of the country in many ways. Many of impacts he made are well known and some not as well know but nevertheless he is one of the greatest contributors to the history of the United States.