Benjamin Franklin

<p><strong>Benjamin Franklin</strong> <span class= "noexcerpt nowraplinks"><a title="Fellow of the Royal Society" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society">FRS</a> <a title="Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Arts">FRSA</a> <a class="mw-redirect" title="Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh">FRSE</a></span> (January 17, 1706 [<a title="Old Style and New Style dates" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S.</a> January 6, 1706]<sup id="cite_ref-birthdate_1-1" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin#cite_note-birthdate-1">[Note 1]</a></sup> – April 17, 1790) was an American <a title= "Polymath" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymath">polymath</a> who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher.<sup id= "cite_ref-Britannica_2-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin#cite_note-Britannica-2">[1]</a></sup> Among the leading <a title="Intellectual" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual">intellectuals</a> of his time, Franklin was one of the <a title= "Founding Fathers of the United States" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_Fathers_of_the_United_States">Founding Fathers of the United States</a>, a <a title= "Committee of Five" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Five">drafter</a> and signer of the <a title= "United States Declaration of Independence" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence">United States Declaration of Independence</a>, and the first <a title="United States Postmaster General" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postmaster_General">United States postmaster general</a>. As a <a title="Scientist" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientist">scientist</a>, he was a