Benjamin Franklin

What do libraries, streetlights, and fire stations have in common? What about bifocal lenses and the odometer? Sayings like haste makes waste? Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents: a scientist who experimented with electricity; a diplomat who served as envoy to France and negotiated peace with England; a mapmaker, printer, and writer famous for his “Poor Richard s Almanack.” He signed both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and established America s first hospital. The list of his accomplishments is astonishing and wide ranging. When he lived, his work touched the lives of every person in the new United States of America; some three hundred years later, he continues to fascinate, amaze, and inspire today s young readers.”