Benjamin Franklin
1706 to 1790
Printer, scientist and signer of the Declaration of Independence
Founders and leaders · Scientists and inventors
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706, went to Boston Latin School and did not graduate, and ran off to Philadelphia as a teenager. There he became a printer, got rich on Poor Richard's Almanack, proved that lightning is electricity, founded a library, a fire company and the college that became the University of Pennsylvania, and signed the Declaration of Independence at seventy.
The Freedom Trail keeps the joke: his is the first portrait statue raised in Boston, standing outside the school he never finished. Philadelphia is where he really lives. At Franklin Court, steel frames trace the outline of his vanished house, with a museum underneath. His grave is in Christ Church Burial Ground at 5th and Arch, visible through the railings even when the gate is shut, and people toss pennies onto it for luck.
This story has not been written in your language yet, so it is shown in English.
Known for
- Poor Richard's Almanack1732
- The lightning rod1752
Where to meet them
Boston
- Granary Burying GroundStop 4, The Freedom Trail
- Boston Latin School siteStop 6, The Freedom Trail
- Old South Meeting HouseStop 8, The Freedom Trail
Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Harvard Science CenterStop 10, Harvard, the Yard and around it
Philadelphia
- Benjamin Franklin on a benchStop 1, Penn, along Locust Walk
- The Split ButtonStop 3, Penn, along Locust Walk
- College Hall and College GreenStop 4, Penn, along Locust Walk
- Wharton at Steinberg-Dietrich HallStop 8, Penn, along Locust Walk
- Independence Visitor CenterStop 1, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Independence HallStop 3, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Old City HallStop 5, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Second Bank of the United StatesStop 6, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Carpenters' HallStop 7, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Museum of the American RevolutionStop 8, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Franklin Court and the Benjamin Franklin MuseumStop 9, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Christ ChurchStop 10, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- National Constitution CenterStop 13, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- LOVE ParkStop 16, Philadelphia, Independence Hall to the Art Museum
- Van Pelt-Dietrich LibraryDestination Book
- College Green and the Franklin statueDestination Book
Chicago
- The Chicago Riverwalk at the River TheaterStop 4, Chicago, the River and the First Skyscrapers
- The Merchandise Mart, from the Riverwalk JettyStop 5, Chicago, the River and the First Skyscrapers
- 333 West Wacker DriveStop 6, Chicago, the River and the First Skyscrapers
San Francisco
- Washington SquareStop 8, San Francisco, Chinatown to North Beach and Coit Tower