Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin\xa0FRS\xa0FRSA\xa0FRSE\xa0(January 17, 1706 [O.S.\xa0January 6, 1706][Note 1]\xa0\u2013 April 17, 1790) was an American\xa0polymath\xa0who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher.[1]\xa0Among the leading\xa0intellectuals\xa0of his time, Franklin was one of the\xa0Founding Fathers of the United States, a\xa0drafter\xa0and signer of the\xa0United States Declaration of Independence, and the first\xa0United States postmaster general. As a\xa0scientist, he was a major figure in the\xa0American Enlightenment\xa0and the\xa0history of physics\xa0for his studies of\xa0electricity. As an\xa0inventor, he is known for the\xa0lightning rod,\xa0bifocals, and the\xa0Franklin stove, among others.[2]\xa0He founded many\xa0civic organizations, including the\xa0Library Company,\xa0Philadelphia's first\xa0fire department,[3]\xa0and the\xa0University of Pennsylvania.[4]\xa0Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for\xa0colonial unity, and as an author and spokesman in\xa0London\xa0for several colonies. As the first\xa0United States ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.[5]\xa0Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work,\xa0education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the\xa0Enlightenment. In the words of historian\xa0Henry Steele Commager, "In Franklin could be merged the virtues of\xa0Puritanism\xa0without its defects, the illumination of the\xa0Enlightenment\xa0without its heat."[6] Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become." He also holds the distinction of the longest opening Wikipedia paragraph of any subject we've ever covered.