Quote of the Day — Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

1706–1790

Benjamin Franklin embodied the self-made American—inventor, businessman, scientist, diplomat, and founding statesman whose contributions to national independence and constitutional governance were indispensable. Rising from poverty through apprenticeship, Franklin built a printing business that made him prosperous while publishing the influential “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” whose aphorisms about industry, frugality, and virtue shaped American character. His scientific investigations into electricity established him as one of the era’s leading natural philosophers. Franklin’s diplomatic skills proved crucial in securing French alliance during the Revolutionary War—perhaps the decisive factor in American victory. His representation of American interests at the Paris peace negotiations demonstrated political sophistication.…