Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a polymath and inventor whose work on electricity provided the basis for our understanding of positive and negative charges. He invented the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, the Franklin stove, and the odometer. His practical approach to inventionfocusing on solving everyday problemsmade his work highly influential in the American colonies and abroad. His commitment to the open exchange of ideas and his refusal to patent his inventions for personal profit set a unique standard for scientific altruism.

His contributions to science and technology were matched by his impact on political and social thought.