Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin-Scientist and Inventor

Benjamin Franklin has influenced American

technology, and indirectly, lifestyles by

using his proficiencies and intelligence to

conduct numerous experiments, arrive at

theories, and produce several inventions.

Franklin's scientific and analytical mind

enabled him to generate many long lasting

achievements which contributed to the

development and refinement of modern

technology.

Few national heroes, including George

Washington and Thomas Jefferson, played a

more significant role in shaping the American

way of life than Franklin. According to

Fowler, "He personified the ideal of the

self-made man, and his rise from obscurity to

eminence exemplified the American dream"

(32). Looby adds, "The study of Franklin's

image for the past two centuries shows that

his legacy had a distinctive place in

American culture" (85). It has been felt by

many people over the years that there was no

United States inventor as great as Franklin

until the time of Thomas A. Edison (Blow 24).

Franklin's words to a friend in Pennsylvania,

Joseph Huey, best explain his attitude not

only toward what he considered his civic

duties, but also his investigations as a

scientist or philosopher. He made some of the

most famous and certainly the most practical

discoveries of his time. "For my own part,

when I am employed in serving others, I do

not look upon myself as conferring favours,

but as paying debts. In my travels, and since

my settlement, I have received much kindness

from men, to whom I shall never have any

opportunity of making the least direct return

. . . I can therefore only return on their

fellow men; and I can only show my gratitude

for these mercies from God, by a readiness to

help his other children and my Brethren"

(Dineen 6). Wright quotes Franklin as saying,

"As we enjoy great advantages from the

inventions of others," and, "we should be

glad of an opportunity to serve others by any

invention of ours" (19).

Franklin summarizes his attitude toward his

inventions by asking the question, "What

signifies Philosophy that does not apply to

some use?" (Fleming 21). Another time

Franklin is quoted as saying, "Utility is in

my opinion the test of value in matters of

invention, and that a discovery which can be

applie...

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...ngame, Roger. Benjamin Franklin: Envoy

Extraordinary. New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.,

1967.

Clark, Ronald W. A Biography: Benjamin

Franklin. New York: Random House, 1983.

Cohen, I. Bernard. Benjamin Franklin:

Scientist and Statesman. New York: Charles

Scribner's Sons, 1975.

Dineen, Michael P. The Most Amazing American:

Benjamin Franklin. Waukesha, Wisconsin:

Country Beautiful, 1973.

Donovan, Frank R. The Many Worlds of Benjamin

Franklin. New York: American Heritage

Publishing Co., 1963.

Fleming, Thomas. The Man Who Dared The

Lightning: A New Look At Benjamin Franklin.

New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.,

1971.

Fowler, Mary J. Great Americans. Grand

Rapids, Michigan: The Fideler Company, 1960

Looby, Christopher. Benjamin Franklin. New

York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1990.

Meltzer, Milton. Benjamin Franklin: The New

American. New York: Franklin Watts, 1988.

Potter, Robert R. Benjamin Franklin. New

Jersey: Silver Burdett Publishers, 1991.

Seeger, Raymond J. Benjamin Franklin: New

World Physicist. New York: Pergamon Press,

1973.

Wright, Esmond. Franklin of Philadelphia.

Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University

Press, 1986.