Person Franklin; Benjamin (1706 - 1790) Franklin Benjamin 1706 - 1790 British Male Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts 17 January 1706 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 17 April 1790 Burial: Christ Church burial ground, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Electricity General physics Oceanography Meteorology International scientific cooperation Education: LLD (1759, St Andrews) Career: Worked with his father, a tallow chandler; apprenticed to his brother James, a printer who started a newspaper about 1709; went to London and worked in a printing office in Bartholomew Close (1724-1726?); returned to Philadelphia and established a printing house; bought the Pennsylvania Gazette (1729); began publishing 'Poor Richard's almanac' (1732); Clerk of the Assembly (1736); Postmaster of Philadelphia (1737); Postmaster General for the colonies (1754); experimented on electricity (1749 and 1752) and suggested the use of lightning conductors; was sent to Great Britain (1757 and 1764-1775); received the Freedom of St Andrews; sent to Paris (1776); returned to Philadelphia (1785); elected President of the State of Pennsylvania; delegate to the Convention which framed the Constitution of the United States; retired from pub Medals and prizes: Copley Medal 1753 for his curious experiments on electricity Fellow 29/05/1756 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DAB; DSB References: Esmond Wright, 'Benjamin Franklin After 200 Years', review of Claude A Lopez, ed., The Papers of Benjamin Franklin vol 27, in NR 1990 vol 44 pp 269-279, plate Frank R Freemon, 'American Colonial Scientists Who Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society' in NR 1984-85 vol 39 pp 191-206 William P Griffith, 'Priestley in London' in NR 1983-84 vol 38 pp 1-16 Bernard Bailyn, '1776: The British Dimension' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 179-199 R V Jones, 'Benjamin Franklin' in NR 1976-7 vol 31 pp 201-225, plate R W Home, 'Some Manuscripts on Electrical and Other Subjects Attributed to Thomas Bayes, FRS' in NR 1974-5 vol 29 pp 81-90 Paul A Tunbridge, 'Franklin's Pointed Lightning Conductor' in NR 1973-4 vol 28 pp 207-219 John R Levene, 'Benjamin Franklin, FRS, Sir Joshua Reynolds, FRS, PRA, Benjamin West, PRA and the Invention of Bifocals' in NR 1972-3 vol 27 pp 141-163, plate J D Holland, 'An Eighteenth-Century Pioneer - Richard Price, DD, FRS (1723-1791)' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 43-64 John Thomas, 'Josiah Wedgwood's Portrait Medallions of Fellows of the Royal Society' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 45-53, plate F M Beatty 'The Scientific Work of the the Third Earl Stanhope' in NR 1954-55 vol 11 pp.202-221 D McKie, 'A Note on Priestley in America' in NR 1953 vol 10 pp 51-59 Jessie M Sweet, 'Benjamin Franklin's Purse' in NR 1952 vol 9 pp 308-309 Albert C Seward, 'The Dedication of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania in Honour of Benjamin Franklin' in NR 1938 vol 1 pp 55-60 Patricia Fara, 'Letters from a scientific emperor', review of Neil Chambers, 'The letters of Sir Joseph Banks: a selection 1768 - 1829' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 264-265 R W Home, 'The Royal Society and the Empire: the colonial and Commonwealth Fellowship. Part 1. 1731-1847' in NR 2002 vol 56 pp 307-332 R W Jones, 'Dalton's unfortunate choice' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 15-33 J L Heilbron 'Benjamin Franklin in Europe: electrician, academician, politician' NR 2007 Vol 61 pp353-374 ©The Royal Society International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/image-rs-9270 17 Jan 1706 - 17 Apr 1790 NA7974 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 28/03/2023 RS_NET\JonathanB Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/56609913 40345318-0913-44bb-a095-18e006f06fe0