Explore the Revolutionary Life of Benjamin Franklin on WITF TV

• Khamelia Henderson
  BioRecent Stories

  

Publisher, author, inventor, scientist, diplomat, and Founding Father are the many roles that Benjamin Franklin has fulfilled throughout his eighty-four years of life. Born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, Franklin lived a relatively long life until his death on April 17, 1790, at the age of 84. During his life, Franklin helped to draft and signed the Declaration of Independence, represented the U.S. in France during the Revolutionary War, and delegated the Constitutional Convention.  

Benjamin Franklin’s civic, scientific, and cultural accomplishments altered the course of American history. Franklin played an important role in the establishment of institutions such as a library in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. Later in his life, Franklin’s kite-flying hobby led to his understanding that lightning transmits a strong electrical current. So, he invented the lighting rod to place on top of building to protect structures from the threat of flames. Franklin served on the Committee of Five tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence, but he wasn’t allowed to write it due to his jokester ways. His diplomatic skills were instrumental in helping America ally with France during the Revolutionary War and he also helped draft the Treaty of Paris. Join Ken Burns as he digs deeper into the life of one of the 18th-century’s most consequential figures.

Watch Benjamin Franklin Friday, January 19 at 9pm on WITF TV or the PBS or WITF App. Livestream it for free or stream it on demand with WITF Passport.