Benjamin Franklin: Renaissance Man

One of our nation's founding fathers, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, Benjamin Franklin was born 300 years ago on January 17, 1706. A true Renaissance man, Franklin was a leading author, politician, printer, scientist, philosopher, publisher, inventor, activist and diplomat--an American DaVinci.

George Washington may be the father of our country, but Benjamin Franklin is the father of American society. Well before the start of the Revolutionary War, he envisioned the united colonies. It was Franklin who spearheaded the effort to force the British Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act, setting the stage for the Revolutionary War. It was Franklin who secured the military and financial support of the French that spelled the turning point in the war. It was Franklin who, through his newspaper and activist writings, defined the goals and direction, the very heart and soul of the new American nation.

Reared in Boston, the 15th of 20 children, at the age of 12, Franklin was apprenticed to his brother James, a printer. At 17 he ran away to Philadelphia to seek his fortune. By the age of 24, he had set up his own printing house and began publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette, using it as a platform to advocate political reform and guide the formation of a new nation.

Though he had little formal schooling, Franklin possessed an avid curiosity and was a voracious reader. His experiments and inventions, particularly with electricity, helped define the science of physics. Epitomizing American entrepreneurial spirit, Franklin invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, the flexible catheter, swim fins, the glass harmonica and bifocals. He started the first public lending library, the first fire department, the first city hospital, the US postal service and was instrumental in the development of the University of Pennsylvania. (Read more about his life and accomplishments on Wikipedia.)

Franklin was a true self-made man, today often remembered for the pithy advice he dispensed in his famous Poor Richard's Almanack. He was the original author of many common sayings still in use today. The words may have been updated over the years, but the sentiment remains the same.

"Early to bed and early to rise,

makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

"A penny saved is two pence clear."

" God helps them that help themselves."

" A rotten apple spoils its companions."

Franklin lived a robust life, active until his death in 1790. His life is perhaps best summed up by his own quotation, "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of."

County Stamp Center offers several stamps commemorating Franklin and his many accomplishments. The stamp shown was issued by Liberia at the 2006 Washington DC Stamp Expo. Click the post title to order and to view additional stamps about Benjamin Franklin. Visit the County Stamp Center website for more stamps on the men who founded a nation and on America's early history. Come to County Stamp Center for all your philatelic supplies.