Today in History

January 17, 1706

Benjamin Franklin Born

On this day in 1706, American statesman, inventor, author, printer, satirist, politician, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin was born. Franklin invented the lightning rod, bifocals, the Franklin stove, and a variety of other devices, including the forerunner of the car odometer. He instituted the first public lending library and the first fire department in America. As a diplomat, he convinced the French to support the American Revolution. He was an early abolitionist and the Postmaster General under the Continental Congress. He died in 1790, having played a pivotal role in the birth of the American nation.

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