He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym "Richard Saunders". In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." Franklin has been called "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become." įranklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia, the leading city in the colonies, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at age 23. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. As the first United States ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. įranklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, and as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies.
He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among others. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his studies of electricity. Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States postmaster general. Wynnes, how she knew that the cobra was in the room, and she replies with, "because it was crawling across my foot.Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Duplessis, 1778īoston, Massachusetts Bay, British AmericaĬhrist Church Burial Ground Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.īenjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE (Janu – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and political philosopher. After the ordeal, the American asks the hostess, Mrs. When he starts counting down the last twenty seconds to finish the game, the cobra emerges from under the table, going towards the bowl of milk outside, and the American locks it out of the room. Knowing at that point that there is a cobra under the table, he creates a game for the guests to see who has control by staying still for three hundred seconds. Then, the American notices that the hostess is very still and summons a native boy over to her, who then leaves the room in a hurry and places a bowl of milk on the veranda outside of the room. A spirited discussion sparks up between a young girl and the colonel, in which the girl believes that woman have outgrown the fright-from-seeing-a-mouse era, but the colonel denies that and says that men have more control than women in every situation. In India, a colonial officer and his wife host a dinner party and invite army officers and government attaches along with their wives, and an American naturalist.
The Dinner Party is a fictional short story written by Mona Gardner.