About the Author
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was a man of many roles-printer, author, philosopher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and politician to name only a few. He was so successful as a businessman that he was able to retire at the age of forty-two. He proved equally adept at science, and his experiments in electricity made him the most famous American in the colonies. Politics and diplomacy took up much of the latter half of his life, and he showed himself a master of these as well, perhaps most importantly by securing the support of France during the American Revolution. And his Autobiography made him the role model for countless future generations who hoped to emulate his rags-to-riches story. To understand Franklin is, to a large extent, to understand early America.
