Query: Benjamin Franklin failed at earning the title of "The First American."

Relevant passages:
Benjamin Franklin <=SEP=> Benjamin Franklin FRS , FRSE ( April 17 , 1790 ) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States . Franklin was a renowned polymath and a leading author , printer , political theorist , politician , freemason , postmaster , scientist , inventor , civic activist , statesman , and diplomat . As a scientist , he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity . As an inventor , he is known for the lightning rod , bifocals , and the Franklin stove , among other inventions . He facilitated many civic organizations , including Philadelphia 's fire department and the University of Pennsylvania , an Ivy League institution .   Franklin earned the title of `` The First American '' for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity , initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies . As the first United States Ambassador to France , he exemplified the emerging American nation . 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 . In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager , `` In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects , the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat . '' To Walter Isaacson , this makes Franklin `` the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become . ''   Franklin became a successful newspaper editor and printer in Philadelphia , the leading city in the colonies , publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette at the age of 23 . He became wealthy publishing this and Poor Richard 's Almanack , which he authored under the pseudonym `` Richard Saunders '' . After 1767 , he was associated with the Pennsylvania Chronicle , a newspaper that was known for its revolutionary sentiments and criticisms of the British policies .   He pioneered and was first president of The Academy and College of Philadelphia which opened in 1751 and later became the University of Pennsylvania . He organized and was the first secretary of the American Philosophical Society and was elected president in 1769 . Franklin became a national hero in America as an agent for several colonies when he spearheaded an effort in London to have the Parliament of Great Britain repeal the unpopular Stamp Act . An accomplished diplomat , he was widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris and was a major figure in the development of positive Franco-American relations . His efforts proved vital for the American Revolution in securing shipments of crucial munitions from France .   He was promoted to deputy postmaster-general for the British colonies in 1753 , having been Philadelphia postmaster for many years , and this enabled him to set up the first national communications network . During the Revolution , he became the first US Postmaster General . He was active in community affairs and colonial and state politics , as well as national and international affairs . From 1785 to 1788 , he served as governor of Pennsylvania . He initially owned and dealt in slaves but , by the 1750s , he argued against slavery from an economic perspective and became one of the most prominent abolitionists .   His colorful life and legacy of scientific and political achievement , and his status as one of America 's most influential Founding Fathers have seen Franklin honored more than two centuries after his death on coinage and the $ 100 bill , warships , and the names of many towns , counties , educational institutions , and corporations , as well as countless cultural references .