BBC - History - Benjamin Franklin z Benjamin Franklin © Franklin was a statesman, diplomat, writer, scientist and inventor, one of the most versatile and talented men in colonial America and a leading figure in the American struggle for independence. Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on 17 January 1706. He attended school only briefly, and then helped his father, who was a candle and soap maker. He was apprenticed to his brother, a printer, and began writing anonymously for his brother's newspaper. Franklin and his brother quarrelled, and in 1723 Franklin ran away to Philadelphia. After 18 months in London, Franklin settled in Philadelphia, establishing himself as a printer. He bought the 'Pennsylvania Gazette', which he edited and which became one of the American colonies' major newspapers. He also wrote and published 'Poor Richard's Almanack', an astronomy journal. By 1748, Franklin had made enough money to retire from business and concentrate on science and inventing. His inventions included the Franklin stove and the lightning rod. He demonstrated that lightning and electricity are identical with his famous kite experiment. Franklin also became more active in politics.

He was clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly (1736-1751), a member of the Assembly (1750-1764), and deputy postmaster for the Colonies (1753-1774), reorganising the postal service to make it efficient and profitable. Franklin was also involved in many public projects, including founding the American Philosophical Society, a subscription library and, in 1751, an academy which later became the University of Pennsylvania. From 1757 to 1774, Franklin lived mainly in London where he was the colonial representative for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. His attempts to reconcile the British government with the colonies proved fruitless. On his return to America, the war of independence had already broken out and he threw himself into the struggle. In 1776, he helped to draft, and was then a signatory to, the Declaration of Independence. His illegitimate son William, royal governor of New Jersey between 1762 and 1776, remained loyal to Britain, causing a rift that lasted for the rest of Franklin's life.

Later that year, Franklin and two others were appointed to represent America in France. Franklin negotiated the Franco-American Alliance which provided for military cooperation between the two countries against Britain and ensured significant French subsidies to America. In 1783, as American ambassador to France, Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the American War of Independence. He was extremely popular and well known in France, but in 1785 returned to America. He continued to be deeply involved in politics, helping to draft the Constitution. Franklin died in Philadelphia on 17 April 1790. Signers of the Declaration of Independence | Daughters of the American Revolution Signers of the Declaration of Independence From the DAR Americana Collection Among the wide variety of holdings in the DAR Americana Collection is a collection of all of the signatures of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. This exhibit includes a biography, signature, and portrait for each of the 56 signers. Josiah Bartlett Josiah Bartlett - New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett was the first delegate to vote for independence and the second signer after John Hancock. Geography dictated the voting order among the delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

New Hampshire delegates voted first because they were from the northernmost colony. Bartlett was born in Massachusetts in 1729. He became a physician and opened a medical practice in Kingston, New Hampshire in 1750. He was also interested in politics and served as an active, energetic member of his colony’s legislature. He earned a reputation as a principled lawmaker and accepted dismissal by the royal governor from some of his committee assignments rather than abandon his opposition to royalist policies. In 1775 he was elected to represent New Hampshire in the First Continental Congress but declined to accept the assignment. He did accept election to the Second Continental Congress and for a time was heavily burdened with committee work as the only member from New Hampshire. Although he returned to state service and was elected president, and then governor, of New Hampshire, Bartlett never lost his interest in medicine. In 1790 Dartmouth College awarded him an honorary medical degree and in 1791 he founded the New Hampshire Medical Society and served as its first president. Josiah Bartlett died in 1795 at age 65.

Josiah Bartlett Josiah Bartlett - New Hampshire: Agreement between Josiah Bartlett and James Prince, dated May 9, 1788 allowing the Prince family use for six months of a house and 41 acres of farmland situated in Kingston, New Hampshire, which Prince Josiah Bartlett - New Hampshire: Agreement between Josiah Bartlett and James Prince, dated May 9, 1788 allowing the Prince family use for six months of a house and 41 acres of farmland situated in Kingston, New Hampshire, Josiah Bartlett - New Hampshire: Agreement between Josiah Bartlett and James Prince, dated May 9, 1788 allowing the Prince family use for six months of a house and 41 acres of farmland situated in Kingston, New Hampshire, which Prince and his wife had sold to Bartlett. Prince and his wife had sold to Bartlett. and his wife had sold to Bartlett. Matthew Thornton Matthew Thornton - New Hampshire: Matthew Thornton was one of the last delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was granted permission to sign the document even though he arrived at the Second Continental Congress three months after the formal signing on August 2, 1776.

Thornton was born in Ireland in about 1714. He emigrated with his parents to America when he was about four years old. He became a physician and maintained a successful medical practice in Londonderry, New Hampshire. In 1745 he served as a surgeon in the New Hampshire militia during the British expedition that captured Louisbourg, the French fortress in Nova Scotia. He was also active in New Hampshire politics and held royal commissions as justice of the peace and colonel of militia. In 1775 he drafted a plan of government that became New Hampshire’s first constitution. He continued to serve his colony as the first president of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and as a justice to the superior court. Matthew Thornton died in 1803 at about age 89. Matthew Thornton Matthew Thornton - New Hampshire: Deed recording the sale of land in the township of Bedford, Town of Merrimack, County of Hillsborough, New Hampshire by Robert and Jennet McCormick to Thomas Wilson, dated December 17, 1782 before Matthew Thornton, Justice of the Peace.

William Whipple William Whipple - New Hampshire: William Whipple was born in Kittery in present-day Maine in 1730. An able seaman, he became a ship’s captain while still in his early twenties. A few years later he and his brother, Joseph, established a mercantile business in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He became involved with the patriot movement in 1775 when he was elected to represent his town at the provincial congress. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. He served on both the marine and the commerce committees where his previous experience at sea and in business proved of use. Whipple was a tough-minded man who believed in a strong military and severe punishment for those loyal to the crown. He was a brigadier general in the New Hampshire militia and commanded troops both at Saratoga and in a Rhode Island campaign. After the war he served both as a state legislator and as an associate justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. William Whipple died in 1785 at age 55.

William Whipple William Whipple - New Hampshire: Sailing orders dated Philadelphia, December 10, 1776 from Continental Congress’s marine committee to Captain Elisha Hinman, Commander of Continental Navy Brig Cabot, signed by William Whipple and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams John Adams - Massachusetts: "May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof." Those were President John Adams’s thoughts about the presidency and the White House in November 1800. Adams was born in Massachusetts in 1735. He attended Harvard College, was admitted to the bar, and began practicing law in 1758. He was an early convert to the cause for American independence and wrote both political protests and scholarly tracts in defense of American rights. Adams was a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses. He served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence and enthusiastically advocated its cause in Congress. During and after the Revolutionary War he served as a diplomat in Europe, helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris, and served as America’s first ambassador to the Court of St. James’s.

He returned to America and became the country’s first vice president in 1789. A vain, energetic, and highly intelligent man, Adams thought the vice presidency beneath him writing that he served in "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived." Adams became the nation’s second president in 1797 and found he needed to direct much of his attention to achieving and preserving a peaceful relationship with France. He retired to Massachusetts after one term in office. John Adams died on the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1826. Fellow president and signer Thomas Jefferson died on the same day. John Adams John Adams - Massachusetts: A ship’s pass, issued in French, Spanish, English, and Dutch for the schooner, ‘Hornet,’ of Baltimore bound for the Caribbean island Hispaniola. This document, dated May 17, 1797, bears the signature of President John Adams. Adams served as President of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Samuel Adams Samuel Adams - Massachusetts: Samuel Adams was an unsuccessful business man who failed at many ventures including losing the brewery he inherited from his father.

He was born in Boston in 1722, graduated from Harvard College with a master’s degree, and quickly earned a reputation as a tireless revolutionary. His first love was politics and he became a behind-the-scenes agitator with his passionate writings against taxation of the colonists by Parliament. He was relentless in encouraging the Americans to resent British occupation of Boston. He also stirred the colonists to a number of acts of defiance including the Boston Tea Party. He helped found the notorious Sons of Liberty, inspired Boston and other towns to create committees of correspondence, and was the first to propose a continental congress to unite and organize the colonial resistance. He was considered so dangerous to British goals in the colonies that in April 1775 the royal governor sent troops to arrest him for treason. He fled Lexington on the night of April 18 and barely escaped arrest the night before American and British troops faced each other on Lexington Green. Adams served in the Continental Congress until 1781 and then continued to serve his new country in a variety of capacities in Massachusetts. Samuel Adams died in Boston in 1803 at age 81.

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams - Massachusetts: Commission appointing Seth Morse Second Lieutenant of Cavalry in the Sixth Division of the militia of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed by Governor Samuel Adams, January 15, 1795. Samuel Adams served as governor of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1797. Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry - Massachusetts: Elbridge Gerry was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1744. He was a Harvard-trained businessman and merchant who put his skills to good use for the American cause. In 1774 when Parliament closed Boston Harbor in partial retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, Gerry helped to coordinate shipments as Marblehead became a major port of entry for supplies donated by patriots throughout the colonies for Boston’s relief. Gerry served his country in several capacities over the course of his career. He was a member of the Massachusetts general court on the committee of correspondence. He also served as a member of the Massachusetts provincial congresses on the council of safety. He barely eluded capture by British troops marching on Lexington and Concord in April 1775. He joined the Continental Congress in 1776.

He returned to Congress in 1783 but, although he was experienced in military and financial matters, he lacked patience with the details of nation building. He served two terms as governor of Massachusetts beginning in 1810. Opposing politicians coined the term "gerrymander" to ridicule Gerry’s support of a redistricting measure intended to ensure his party’s domination of the state senate. In 1813 he became President James Madison’s vice president. He died in office in 1814 at age 70. Elbridge Gerry is the only signer of the Declaration of Independence buried in Washington, DC. Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry - Massachusetts: A letter dated from Cambridge, Massachusetts on October 26, 1786 from Elbridge Gerry to a P. R. Gerry in Marblehead concerning financial dealings with James Fuller and a Mr. Gifford. John Hancock John Hancock - Massachusetts: John Hancock’s signature on the Declaration of Independence is so famous that now everyone’s signature is colloquially referred to as a “John Hancock.” The story that he signed his name larger than the others to irk King George III is unfounded.

As president of the Second Continental Congress, Hancock was first to sign the document and thus had no perspective on the size of his signature. Nonetheless, few people associated with America’s founding were better known or more popular than Hancock. He was born in Braintree, Massachusetts in 1737. He was orphaned as a boy and raised by a childless uncle from whom he inherited a very prosperous shipping company. While traveling in England on business he witnessed both the funeral of King George II and the coronation of King George III. Hancock grew staunchly in favor of American independence from Britain even though his great wealth placed him among elite men who were mostly loyalists. A believer in the abilities of the common man and mentored by the firebrand Samuel Adams, Hancock tirelessly incited the people to revolt. He aided the Boston Tea Party, gave a public address commemorating the Boston Massacre, and became a popular hero in 1768 for attempting to smuggle a shipment of wine in his sloop ‘Liberty’ to avoid paying taxes on it. Riding a wave of popularity, Hancock was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774. In April 1775 he barely escaped arrest by British troops in Lexington.

He assumed the presidency of the Second Continental Congress in 1776. In 1780 he was elected the first governor of Massachusetts. A victim of a lavish lifestyle and rich food that aged him prematurely, John Hancock died in Boston in 1793 at age 56. John Hancock John Hancock - Massachusetts: A letter dated from Boston, Massachusetts on October 19, 1779 by John Hancock to Captain Elisha Hinman. Hancock recommends a Captain Moore to serve on the ship under Hinman’s command and praises Moore’s good character. Robert Treat Paine Robert Treat Paine - Massachusetts: Robert Treat Paine was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1731. Family tradition dictated that he join the clergy and he did so after graduating from Harvard College in 1749. He tired quickly of religious life, however, and set out to improve his frail health by working onboard ship. He spent several years as a merchant marine before returning home to study law. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1757. Paine served as a prosecuting attorney in the trials of the British officers accused in the Boston Massacre.

Although he lost to the defense, led by John Adams, his arguments against Parliament’s right to quarter troops among civilians won him acclaim. He attended the First Continental Congress in 1774 and served on the committee that formed the rules of debate and the committee charged with acquiring gunpowder. He was the author of the final appeal to King George III, known as the Olive Branch Petition, in 1775. Paine was again elected to represent Massachusetts at the Second Continental Congress and came to be known in Congress as the "Objection Maker" because he so frequently objected to others’ proposals. He was elected attorney general of Massachusetts in 1777. He had a life-long interest in science and was one of the founders of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780. He accepted an appointment to the state supreme court in 1796. Robert Treat Paine died in Boston in 1814 at age 83. Robert Treat Paine Robert Treat Paine - Massachusetts: A bill of legal costs associated with a case in the court of Common Pleas, Bristol, August 1767.

The position of Robert Treat Paine’s signature on this document suggests he represented the plaintiff. In 1767 Robert Treat Paine was practicing law in Taunton, Massachusetts. William Ellery William Ellery - Rhode Island: The story goes that on the day of the formal signing of the Declaration of Independence, August 2, 1776, William Ellery positioned himself near the secretary so that he could watch the others as each signed his name to what might have been his death warrant. He was pleased to report a look of "undaunted resolution" on every face. Ellery was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1727. He graduated from Harvard College at age 15 and then spent more than twenty years trying his hand at a variety of careers. He settled on the law in about 1770 and appeared to have finally found his calling. He was a member of the Rhode Island Sons of Liberty and was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. He was a bit reticent in debates but he proved a very competent and diligent committee member. Ellery was active on committees regarding commercial affairs, foreign relations, and naval issues.

In 1785 he declined an offer to serve as chief justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court to remain in Congress where he had attained impressive seniority. His fervent support of the cause of independence gained him the animosity of the British who burned his home in Newport in 1776. William Ellery died in Newport in 1820. He lived to be 92 years old; the second-longest-lived signer after Charles Carroll. William Ellery William Ellery - Rhode Island: Sailing orders from Continental Congress’s marine committee to Captain Elisha Hinman, Commander of Continental Navy Brig ‘Cabot’ dated Philadelphia, December 10, 1776, signed by William Ellery and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Stephen Hopkins Stephen Hopkins - Rhode Island: A very early critic of British tyranny, Stephen Hopkins originally was unwilling to advocate complete separation from England; however, eventually he saw American independence as inevitable. He was born in Scituate, Rhode Island in 1707 and is the second-oldest signer after Benjamin Franklin. He was a self-educated man who had expected to spend life as a farmer.

Instead he became a surveyor, merchant, and shipbuilder before serving in several of the highest offices in Rhode Island including the governorship. He was one of the founders of the ‘Providence Gazette and Country Journal’ which supported the patriots’ cause. His own article "The Rights of the Colonies Examined" contested the legality of parliamentary taxation. He believed in the union of the colonies and represented Rhode Island in a variety of intercolonial meetings. In 1754 he was a delegate to the Albany Congress in New York where he befriended Benjamin Franklin and helped him draft a plan of colonial union which the congress passed but the colonies rejected. He attended both Continental Congresses. He was a productive delegate serving on the marine committee and helping to draft the Articles of Confederation. He left Congress in 1778 to return to Rhode Island and serve in its legislature. Stephen Hopkins died in Providence, Rhode Island in 1785 at age 78. Stephen Hopkins Stephen Hopkins - Rhode Island: Appointment of Ebenezer Cole as a Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, County of Bristol, signed by Stephen Hopkins, governor of Rhode Island, May 9, 1763.

Hopkins was serving his seventh year as governor of Rhode Island when he signed this document. Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington - Connecticut: Samuel Huntington devoted nearly all his life to public service. He was born on a farm in Windham, Connecticut in 1731. He had only a rudimentary education as a child but he loved learning and was ambitious. He taught himself law using borrowed books and was admitted to the Connecticut bar in his early twenties. He served his colony in a number of capacities including justice of the peace and justice to the superior court. He was also a member of the Connecticut legislature. He served as King’s Attorney of the colony for a time before resigning for reasons of conscience in 1774, the same year he became active with the Sons of Liberty. Huntington served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. He was active in committee work and contended with topics as varied as Indian affairs, ordnance supply, and marine concerns. He served two terms as President of the Congress and was acting in that capacity when the Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1781.

Huntington left Congress in 1783 to return to Connecticut where he was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1785. He was elected Governor in 1786 and was re-elected every term for the rest of his life. Always deeply interested in education even though he lacked a formal degree, he supported institutions of higher learning including Yale College. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from Princeton, Yale, and Dartmouth. Samuel Huntington died in 1796 at age 65. Samuel Huntington Samuel Huntington - Connecticut: Letter of Marque issued to Elisha Hinman, commander of the frigate ‘Deane,’ dated June 6, 1780 and signed by Samuel Huntington as President of the Congress of the United States of America. Samuel Huntington served as President of Congress from September 1779 until July 1781. Roger Sherman Roger Sherman - Connecticut: Hardworking and determined, Roger Sherman was a self-made man with a remarkably busy career. He was born in Newton, Massachusetts on April 19, 1721. His formal education was minimal so he read widely on his own, teaching himself law, science, literature, and politics.

In 1743 he relocated to New Milford, Connecticut where he pursued a variety of interests including writing and publishing a series of popular almanacs. Sherman was admitted to the bar in 1754. He maintained a law practice while also serving as a justice of the peace, a county judge, and as a representative in the colonial legislature. In 1761 he closed his law practice and moved to New Haven where he spent many years serving as treasurer of Yale College. At the same time, he served as an associate judge of the Connecticut Superior Court. He was an early supporter of the patriot cause and served as a delegate to both Continental Congresses. He was an active committee member and several of his fellow delegates admired his work ethic. He was a member of the committees that drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. One of his greatest contributions was his authoring of the Great Compromise which provided for a dual legislative system whereby the people would be represented by proportion of population in the lower house and by equal representation in the upper house.

Sherman was one of only two men who signed the three main founding documents of the nation: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. Roger Sherman died in 1793 at age 72. Roger Sherman Roger Sherman - Connecticut: Letter signed by Roger Sherman dated Philadelphia, October 20, 1778 written to the Reverend Benjamin Trumbull, New Haven, Connecticut. Sherman discusses various proposals, including taxation and foreign loans, for supporting the credit of the United States. Sherman’s interest in public financial policy dates to the 1750s when he published a work on paper money. In the Continental Congress he served on a number of committees concerned with finance. William Williams William Williams - Connecticut: William Williams so believed in the patriot cause that he contributed much of his own wealth to the war effort. He was born in 1731 in Lebanon, Connecticut. After he graduated from Harvard College in 1751 he studied with his father, a minister, with the intention to join the clergy. His plans changed after he participated in the British expedition to Lake George during the French and Indian War.

His war experience taught him to resent British inattentiveness to the colonists’ needs. When he returned to Connecticut he established himself as a merchant and politician. Williams’s political career spanned more than fifty years and he held a number of state and local offices. He served as member, clerk, and speaker of the lower house of the colonial legislature and as a judge of the Windham County court. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. He arrived too late to vote for Independence but he did sign the Declaration on August 2, 1776. He also served as a member of the committee that framed the Articles of Confederation. During the winter of 1780-81, while a French regiment was stationed in Lebanon, he moved out of his home and turned it over to the officers. In 1788 he attended the convention that ratified the Federal Constitution. William Williams died in 1811 at age 80. William Williams William Williams - Connecticut: Letter signed W[illiam] Williams, dated May 28, 1776 to Colonel Seymour, concerning a dating error in two documents apparently concerning military finances.

At the time Williams penned this document he was a colonel in the Connecticut militia. Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott - Connecticut: Oliver Wolcott was born in Windsor, Connecticut in 1726. He attended Yale College and immediately after graduating led a volunteer militia in the French and Indian War. He studied medicine for a time before taking up the practice of law and beginning a long and active political career. He was sheriff of Litchfield County for twenty years. He served in the colonial legislature and as a county judge. By 1774 he had risen to the rank of colonel in the militia. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775 and was appointed a Commissioner of Indian Affairs that same year. Throughout his time in Congress, Wolcott spent more time in the field leading Connecticut troops than in congressional sessions. He saw action in the defense of New York City and in the Saratoga campaign. He became ill during the summer of 1776 and returned home, missing both the vote for independence and the formal signing of the Declaration of Independence. He signed the document sometime after his return to Congress in October.

During 1779, as a major general, he defended the Connecticut seacoast against the raids of William Tryon, Royal Governor of New York. After the Revolutionary War he continued to serve Connecticut as Lieutenant Governor, Governor, and as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Oliver Wolcott died in 1797 at age 71. Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott - Connecticut: Account written in Oliver Wolcott’s hand and bearing his signature dated November 11, 1777 concerning expenses associated with the administration of the estate of Oliver Burr by Sarah Burr. Oliver Wolcott served as judge of the court of probate for Litchfield, Connecticut from 1772 to 1781. Lewis Morris Lewis Morris - New York: A fierce proponent of American independence, Lewis Morris signed the Declaration of Independence reportedly after stating: "Damn the consequences, give me the pen." The statement is a charged one as Morris, heir to a great fortune that included his father’s Westchester County estate, Morrisania, had more to lose than many of his fellow delegates.

Morris was born in New York in 1726 into a world of privilege and wealth with strong family ties to the crown government. He graduated from Yale in 1746, returned home to help manage the family estate, and acquired Morrisania in 1762 at his father’s death. He became politically active at this time and, as a member of the royal government’s New York Assembly, protested both the Stamp Act and the royal governor’s order that the Assembly provide funds for local royal troops. Morris was sent to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. His committee service focused on the defense of his colony and Indian affairs. He returned mostly to local duties after 1777, serving both as a judge and as a state legislator. Much of his property was destroyed and his wealth lost in the Revolution and he spent many years rebuilding Morrisania. In 1784 he served on the first Board of Regents of the University of New York and in 1788 he strongly supported Alexander Hamilton’s successful bid for ratification of the United States Constitution. Lewis Morris died in 1798 at age 71.

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris - New York: Letter dated March 17, 1792 written by Lewis Morris to his son, Colonel Lewis Morris, Charleston, South Carolina. The letter discusses a variety of family matters. Francis Lewis Francis Lewis - New York: Francis Lewis was among the most well-traveled of the signers. He was a successful merchant and frequently accompanied his cargo to foreign ports. Born in Wales in 1713 and orphaned at about four years of age, he was sent to London in the care of relatives where he attended the Westminster School. He apprenticed at a mercantile house in London before voyaging to America while still in his twenties to set up his own mercantile businesses in New York and Philadelphia. In 1756, while working as a clothing contractor for British troops at Fort Oswego during the French and Indian War, Lewis was taken prisoner and shipped to France. He returned to New York City after his release in 1763 and very quickly amassed a great fortune. He became active in politics and may have been a leader of the New York Sons of Liberty. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, he served for four years.

His committee work naturally revolved around mercantile and shipping matters. Lewis endured great personal losses during the Revolutionary War. He spent a great amount of his considerable wealth to further the patriots’ cause. Worst of all, when the British destroyed his home on Long Island they took his wife, Elizabeth, prisoner. She was released as part of an exchange of wives of British officials; however, the hardships she suffered ruined her health and she died soon after her release in 1779. That same year, Lewis took a leave of absence from Congress and never returned. He lived in retirement with his sons and their families until his death in New York City in 1802 at age 89. Francis Lewis Francis Lewis - New York: Sailing orders from Continental Congress’s marine committee to Captain Elisha Hinman, Commander of Continental Navy Brig "Cabot" dated Philadelphia, December 10, 1776, signed by Francis Lewis and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Phillip Livingston Phillip Livingston - New York: An energetic humanitarian and philanthropist, political conservative Philip Livingston was initially opposed to American independence.

He was born in Albany, New York in 1716 to a wealthy family. After graduating from Yale in 1737, he became a merchant and entered the import business in New York City. Although eventually he amassed a great personal fortune, Livingston believed in the importance of public service. He supported many organizations and causes important to his colony’s development including King’s College (later Columbia University), the New York Society Library, the New York Chamber of Commerce, and New York Hospital. He served as a New York City alderman in his first political office. In a decade of service which included membership in the colonial legislature, he was a proponent of political and religious freedom and supported those who opposed the royal leadership of the colony. However, although Livingston opposed the taxes imposed on the colonists by the crown, he believed in dignified protests and disapproved of the violent tactics of such groups as the Sons of Liberty. Livingston was a delegate to both the First and Second Continental Congresses. His committee service focused on marine, commerce, finance, military, and Indian matters. Between 1774 and 1778, he divided his time between Congress and the New York legislature.

Both his home in New York City and his home in Brooklyn Heights were overrun and damaged by the British. Philip Livingston died suddenly while attending Congress in 1778 at age 62. Phillip Livingston Phillip Livingston - New York: Letter dated April 23, 1774 written by Philip Livingston to a Jillis Fonda concerning the financing and terms of a land purchase made by Livingston. William Floyd William Floyd - New York: William Floyd led his colony’s delegation in signing the Declaration of Independence even though he was not a particularly prominent figure in Congress and preferred to cede the floor to the other New York delegates during debates. Floyd’s family had emigrated to America from Wales in the 1650s and was established and wealthy by the time of his birth on Long Island in 1734. Floyd received no formal education and when both of his parents died within months of each other he was obligated to take over the family farm while still in his teens. Although he was involved in local civic matters, Floyd was typical of New York colonists in that he did not become active in the patriot cause until the 1770s.

Floyd was chosen to represent New York in the First Continental Congress in 1774. In 1776, when the British occupied Long Island, Floyd’s wife and three children fled their property and began what became a seven-year period of exile in Connecticut. Floyd’s wife died there in 1781. The British used the Long Island house for a barracks, and when Floyd returned home with his children in 1783, he found both the house and the surrounding land severely damaged. Floyd served several terms in the New York legislature after the war. In 1789 he was elected to the first United States Congress under the new Constitution. In 1803 he gave his Long Island property to his son and relocated to spend the remainder of his life in a remote region of upstate New York where he had acquired a vast tract of land. William Floyd died in 1821 at age 86. William Floyd William Floyd - New York: Receipt dated June 27, 1808 signed by William Floyd acknowledging payment of rent he received from a George Braxton who acted for two men who leased land from Floyd.

Abraham Clark Abraham Clark - New Jersey: Although he was probably never a member of the bar, self-educated attorney Abraham Clark came to be known as the "poor man’s counselor" for his willingness to provide free legal advice to farmers involved in land disputes. Clark was born on his father’s farm in New Jersey in 1726. When he was still very young it was determined that he was too frail to become a farmer; however, he had a natural gift for mathematics and worked for a time as a surveyor. His support for the patriot cause began sometime between 1774 and 1776. Clark’s public service included a term as sheriff for Essex County and service in the colonial legislature. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. Although he served in Congress throughout the Revolutionary War, he was preoccupied with concerns about his home, which was located close to British-occupied areas, and his two soldier sons, who had been captured by the British. Clark’s boys were incarcerated for a time aboard the notorious prison ship, "Jersey," where they were mistreated by their captors. After the war, Clark continued his civil service career with a three-year tour in the state legislature.

He returned to the Continental Congress from 1787 to 1789 but ill health prevented his attendance at the Constitutional Convention. Although Clark was opposed to the ratification of the United States Constitution because it lacked a Bill of Rights, he served as a representative to the Second and Third Congresses under the Constitution from 1791 until his death in 1794 at age 68. Abraham Clark Abraham Clark - New Jersey: Letter to a Colonel Drayton written by Abraham Clark in June 1782 explaining the actions in Congress that resulted in the postponing of an Elias Drayton's promotion. Abraham Clark was serving in Congress as one of the representatives from New Jersey when he signed this letter. Francis Hopkinson Francis Hopkinson - New Jersey: Francis Hopkinson was born in 1737, eldest of eight children, to a wealthy, prominent Philadelphia family with close ties to British culture and aristocracy. Hopkinson was a lawyer and judge by profession who had also been employed as a customs collector and a shopkeeper. His true talents, however, lay in artistic endeavors.

Ranking among the better literary efforts of the Revolutionary and early Federal periods, Hopkinson’s essays include: "A Pretty Story," which was a skeptical examination of the relationship between the crown and the colonies; "Battle of the Kegs," which was a satiric taunting of the British; and "The Prophecy," which predicted the adoption of the Declaration of Independence months before that event. He was one of America’s first native composers and a talented artist who often relieved his boredom during congressional sessions by drawing caricatures of his colleagues. Wholeheartedly committed to the patriot cause by 1774, Hopkinson began a two-year term in the colonial legislature and was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. Throughout the Revolutionary War, he continued to produce essays and pamphlets in support of the patriot cause. After the war, Hopkinson continued to write about political and social themes while actively advocating for ratification of the United States Constitution. His legal career continued to the end of his life as he was commissioned a Judge of Admiralty in 1780 and appointed a Federal Circuit Judge in 1790. Francis Hopkinson died suddenly in Philadelphia in 1791 at age 53.

Francis Hopkinson Francis Hopkinson - New Jersey: Order dated July 10, 1780 by Francis Hopkinson, judge of the Admiralty Court of Pennsylvania, instructing the marshal of the court to sell the ship, "The Eleanor," and to divide the proceeds among the owners, officers, and crew of the privateer "Fair American." John Witherspoon John Witherspoon - New Jersey: The American colonies were "not only ripe for the measure but in danger of rotting for the want of it." Those were John Witherspoon’s thoughts on the adoption of the Declaration of Independence expressed during a speech in Congress on July 2, 1776. The only active clergyman among the signers, Witherspoon was born in Scotland near Edinburgh in 1723. By the time he was twenty years old he had earned master of arts and divinity degrees from the University of Edinburgh. Initially reluctant to emigrate from Scotland to America for personal reasons, he finally did so in 1768 to accept the presidency of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University).

His support of the American cause likely stemmed from a hatred of the English acquired in 1745 when Witherspoon participated in the Highlander’s Revolt and was imprisoned briefly by British troops. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776 and remained in Congress until 1782. A well-regarded orator, Witherspoon participated heavily in congressional debates. He was also very active in committee work and his assignments focused on military and foreign affairs. After the war, he devoted much of his time to rebuilding the college as the British destroyed parts of the campus after they invaded New Jersey late in 1776. The college flourished under Witherspoon’s leadership and he is remembered for increasing the school’s endowment and making positive changes to both the curriculum and to teaching methods. John Witherspoon died on his farm outside Princeton, New Jersey in 1794 at age 71. John Witherspoon John Witherspoon - New Jersey: Bill for carting timber, approved by John Witherspoon and dated May 1773. Witherspoon was serving as the president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) when he signed this document.

John Hart John Hart - New Jersey: John Hart’s family moved to a farm near Hopewell, New Jersey shortly after his birth in Stonington, Connecticut circa 1711. Hart received no formal education and lived and worked on the family farm his entire life. Known to his neighbors as "Honest John," he enjoyed great success as a leader in his community in both business and politics. In addition to having acquired a significant amount of property including saw and grist mills, Hart was also an accomplished public servant. He was elected to a variety of offices including justice of the peace and county judge. In 1761 he was elected to the New Jersey Assembly and served there until it was dissolved in 1771. From 1774 to 1776 he attended the New Jersey Provincial Congress and was vice president as well as a member of the council of safety and the committee of correspondence. In the legislature’s dispute with the Royal Governor, Hart opposed parliamentary taxation and the stationing of British troops in the colony. He was sent as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in 1776 just in time to vote in favor of independence.

Returning to New Jersey in August 1776, he assumed the role of Speaker of the Lower House of the New Jersey legislature. Hart’s farm was destroyed when British troops invaded New Jersey in November 1776 and he was forced into hiding. When he emerged from exile after the American victories at Princeton and Trenton, he learned that his wife had died while he was gone. Hart became ill in 1778 and was forced to retire from public life. John Hart died at home on his farm in 1779 at about age 68. John Hart John Hart - New Jersey: One shilling (paper currency) issued by the colony of New Jersey on March 25, 1776 and signed by John Hart. Richard Stockton Richard Stockton - New Jersey: Although originally a political moderate who preferred a quiet life tending to both his prosperous law practice and his family estate, a series of British offenses against the colonies culminating in the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765 convinced Richard Stockton of the need for American independence.

Born in 1730 near Princeton, New Jersey, the son of a wealthy landowner and judge, Stockton graduated from the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1748. He was admitted to the bar in 1754 and by the mid-1760s was recognized as one of the best attorneys in the middle colonies. Stockton served as a member of the executive council of New Jersey from 1768 to 1774 when he was appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. Also in 1776 Stockton lost his bid for the governorship of New Jersey and turned down the chance to become the chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey to remain in Congress. When the British invaded the colony in November 1776, Stockton managed to move his family to safety but he was captured and imprisoned by the British. In poor health as a result of ill treatment in prison, Stockton returned home in 1777 to find that British troops had destroyed his property and burned his private papers.

Richard Stockton died in 1781 at age 50. Richard Stockton Richard Stockton - New Jersey: Court document dated May 1765 filed by attorney Richard Stockton on behalf of his client, Benjamin Parker, concerning a debt owed Parker by a John Brearly. Appended to this paper is a copy of Brearly’s original promissory note. George Read George Read - Delaware: Although George Read was the only signer who voted against independence in the final congressional vote on July 2, 1776, either because he felt pressure from the strong Tory presence in Delaware or because he genuinely believed reconciliation with the crown was still possible, he willingly joined the delegates in favor of independence after the vote. Read’s family relocated to New Castle, Delaware soon after his birth in Maryland in 1733. He attended schools in Pennsylvania and studied law in Philadelphia. He returned to New Castle to practice law after he was admitted to the bar in 1753. Cautious and moderate, Read was willing to protect the colonists’ rights but he preferred nonimportation measures and dignified protests to the use of extreme measures.

He served as crown attorney general for Delaware from 1763 to 1774. In 1765 he began a decade-long career in the colonial legislature. In 1776 he presided over the Delaware constitutional convention and then began a term as speaker which, in effect, made him vice president of Delaware. After the state president was captured by the British in 1777, Read assumed the presidency and held it for several months. As a delegate to the Constitutional Convention he defended the rights of the smaller states. He is one of six signers of the Declaration of Independence who also signed the United States Constitution. He served in the United States Senate from 1789 to 1793 and as chief justice of Delaware from 1793 until his death. George Read died in New Castle, Delaware in 1798, just three days after his 65th birthday. George Read George Read - Delaware: This letter, dated February 17, 1787, requests the Delaware state auditor of accounts to record a warrant signed by the Delaware state president authorizing a payment for George Read, signer of the letter.

George Read was serving as judge of the court of appeals in admiralty cases at the time this document was written. Thomas McKean Thomas McKean - Delaware: Thomas McKean was the last delegate to sign the Declaration of Independence. He signed the document sometime after January 18, 1777. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1734. Although his father was both a farmer and a tavern keeper, McKean grew up to study law and was admitted to the bar in both Pennsylvania and Delaware by 1754. A diligent worker, he served Delaware in a variety of positions including sheriff, militia captain, trustee of the loan office of New Castle County, customs collector, deputy attorney general of Sussex County, and clerk and member of the legislature, including the speakership of the lower house. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1774 and except for the period December 1776 to January 1778, he stayed there until 1783 and even served as President for a few months in 1781. After the Revolution, he continued to hold offices in both Pennsylvania and Delaware.

He was a member of the Constitutional Convention and eventually became a three-term governor of Pennsylvania. He was a strong, sure leader who believed in the advancement of education and internal improvements. Imperious by nature, he alienated many members of his own party. This, combined with an apparent penchant for nepotism (several family members and friends held prominent positions in his administration), resulted in a failed attempt to impeach him. Thomas McKean died at his home in Philadelphia in 1817 at age 83. Thomas McKean Thomas McKean - Delaware: Deed dated March 29, 1803, witnessed by Thomas McKean, governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, confirming a grant of land to a Christopher Bowman. Caesar Rodney Caesar Rodney - Delaware: A self-made man, Caesar Rodney received no formal education. He was born in 1728 on his family’s 800-acre plantation near Dover, Delaware. His father died when Rodney was a teenager and, as the oldest child, Rodney inherited the estate. In 1755 he was commissioned High Sheriff of Kent County Delaware under the royal government.

In succeeding years he continued to serve his colony in a variety of offices including, but not limited to, justice of the Superior Court, registrar of wills, recorder of deeds, clerk of the orphan’s court, and justice of the peace. From 1761 to 1776 he was a member of the Delaware colonial legislature. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777; however, often he was away from Congress fulfilling his military responsibilities. On the evening of July 1, 1776, Rodney received an urgent message from fellow Delaware delegate Thomas McKean informing him that fellow Delaware delegate George Read had voted against independence that day and pleading with him to come to Philadelphia to break the tie. Rodney rode all night in a thunderstorm stopping only to change horses. He completed the 80-mile trip just in time to ensure Delaware’s vote for independence before returning to Dover to reassume command of the state militia. In 1778 Rodney was elected president of Delaware for a three-year term. Subsequently, he was elected to the national Congress in 1782 but declined to serve due to failing health.

Caesar Rodney died at his plantation in Dover in 1784 at age 55. Caesar Rodney Caesar Rodney - Delaware: Commission as an ensign for a John Holland dated September 1, 1778 and signed by Caesar Rodney. Rodney served as Delaware’s president from 1778 to 1781. George Clymer George Clymer - Pennsylvania: Orphaned shortly after his birth in Philadelphia in 1739, George Clymer was raised by a wealthy uncle from whom he inherited a very prosperous mercantile business. Clymer was a staunch patriot and among the first prominent Americans to support independence. In 1773 he led a committee that forced the resignation of the Philadelphia tea consignees appointed by England under the Tea Act. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress in 1776 and, although he was reticent in debates, he worked hard on committees pertaining to finance, commerce, and military affairs. Clymer also served as one of the first two Continental treasurers and was so committed to the cause that he personally helped underwrite the war by exchanging all of his own specie for Continental currency.

Undeterred when British soldiers occupied and destroyed much of his home in Philadelphia in September 1777, Clymer accepted the first of several appointments to help manage Indian affairs in the colonies. In 1787 Clymer was elected as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and was one of the few signers of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. He put his experience with national finance to use by accepting an appointment in 1791 from President Washington to serve as the United States Tax Collector in Pennsylvania. He was still serving in this capacity in 1794 when the tax revolt known as the Whisky Rebellion occurred. One of Clymer's sons was killed in the fighting. Clymer continued working for many years after retiring from public life in 1796. He served as first president of the Philadelphia Bank, first president of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and vice president of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. George Clymer died in 1813 at age 73.

George Clymer George Clymer - Pennsylvania: Letter written by George Clymer, dated October 1, 1801, to an Ebenger Bowman regarding payment of real estate taxes for the year 1796. Robert Morris Robert Morris - Pennsylvania: A fearless financial wizard, Robert Morris almost singlehandedly arranged for the funding the colonies needed to win independence. Born in England in 1734, he came to Maryland at age 13 to live with his father. After briefly attending school in Philadelphia, he was apprenticed to a shipping firm where he eventually became a partner and one of the wealthiest merchants in the colonies. Morris was elected to the Continental Congress in 1775. His committee work centered around raising funds and supplies for the Continental Army. When Congress gave him unlimited power to rescue the nation's disastrous finances, Morris tirelessly cajoled the colonies to contribute money and provisions, borrowed money against overwhelming odds, and even levied his personal fortune to fund the bid for independence. In 1781 he combined a loan from France with some of his own money and financed both the Yorktown campaign and a national bank.

Named the Bank of North America, it gave stability to the fledgling American economy, financed the war effort, and eventually established the credit of the United States with other nations. Morris was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He and Roger Sherman of Connecticut are the only two individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. In 1789 Morris turned down an appointment as Secretary of the Treasury to serve in the United States Senate. He retired in 1795 having never recovered his fortune. He lost his remaining funds to land speculation and was incarcerated in debtors prison in Philadelphia in 1798. He was released three years later but his health and spirits never recovered. Robert Morris died in 1806 at age 72. Robert Morris Robert Morris - Pennsylvania: Certificate held by Bird, Savage and Bird of London, for four shares of stock in the North American Land Company signed on March 16, 1795 by Robert Morris, President and James Marshall, Secretary. Morris was serving as a United States senator from Pennsylvania when he signed this document.

Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush - Pennsylvania: Benjamin Rush was born in Pennsylvania in 1745. Equal parts scientist and politician, he was well educated, earning his medical degree at the University of Edinburgh in 1768. The following year Rush returned home, opened a private medical practice in Philadelphia, and was appointed professor of chemistry at the College of Philadelphia. He served briefly in Congress in 1776. In 1777 he was appointed surgeon general in the Middle Department of the Continental Army. Rush's military career was cut short after he became involved in the Conway Cabal, a secret movement to have General Washington removed from command. Although Rush was a staunch supporter of the ratification of the United States Constitution and served as treasurer of the United States Mint from 1797 to 1813, he is perhaps best remembered for his accomplishments as a physician and social reformer. He was a prominent advocate for the abolition of slavery and for scientific education of the masses, including women. He also supported educational and prison reform, condemned public and capital punishment, and encouraged temperance.

Between 1783 and 1787 he helped organize Dickinson College, established the first free medical clinic in the United States to treat the poor, and aided in founding the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. He was also a member of the American Philosophical Society and a cofounder and vice president of the Philadelphia Bible Society. Although he was wildly popular with his medical students, Rush's critics thought him a gossip and too confident in his own opinions and decisions. Benjamin Rush died in 1813 at age 67. Benjamin Rush Benjamin Rush - Pennsylvania: "Prescription for Thomas W. Rogers" dated 1807, includes medicinal, dietary, and general health advice from Benjamin Rush. At this time, Rush was serving as a medical doctor in Philadelphia, a professor at the Philadelphia College of Physics, and treasurer of the United States Mint. James Smith James Smith - Pennsylvania: Thought of by his colleagues as witty and a good conversationalist if a bit eccentric, James Smith was born in northern Ireland circa 1719. He relocated with his family to York County, Pennsylvania in 1729 when he was about 10 years old.

Smith attended the College of Philadelphia and then studied law in his brother's office before setting up his own law practice in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. This was frontier country and Smith took up surveying for a time because legal work was scarce. Eventually he returned to York to practice law exclusively. In 1774 Smith emerged in favor of the patriot cause with his attendance at a provincial assembly where he advocated both a boycott of English products and an intercolonial congress. Also in 1774 he organized a volunteer militia company in York. In provincial meetings in 1775 and 1776 Smith continued to call for independence. In 1776 he participated in drafting the Pennsylvania state constitution. That same year Smith was elected to the Second Continental Congress where he remained for two years. He continued his service to Pennsylvania after leaving Congress by serving in the state assembly and as a judge in the state court system. In 1782 Smith was appointed brigadier general of the Pennsylvania militia. He was reelected to Congress in 1785 but declined to serve citing his advancing age. He chose instead to turn his attention back to his law practice in his last years.

James Smith died in 1806 at about age 87. James Smith James Smith - Pennsylvania: Legal document dated February 15, 1786 signed by James Smith and concerning a lawsuit by a John Robb against the estate of a Thomas Gowan for payment of a debt. Smith was the attorney representing Gowan's estate. George Taylor George Taylor - Pennsylvania: The only former indentured servant to sign the Declaration of Independence, George Taylor was born in northern Ireland in 1716. In 1736 he contracted himself to a Pennsylvania ironmaster and began work as a laborer at Warwick Furnace in Chester County. Intelligent and industrious, he was quickly promoted and eventually became bookkeeper and manager of nearby Coventry Forge, a business he acquired when he married the owner's widow. Taylor began his public life in 1747 when he took a commission as a captain in the Chester County militia. Devoted to the welfare of his colony, he was appointed justice of the peace for Bucks County and justice of the peace and a representative in the colonial legislature for Northampton County.

Taylor served six years in the provincial assembly of Pennsylvania, attended a provincial Revolutionary convention, served on committees of safety and correspondence, and served as a colonel in the Bucks County and Northampton County militias. He was appointed to the Second Continental Congress in 1776. In 1777 he was elected to the Supreme Executive Assembly of Pennsylvania, but served only six weeks before retiring from public life. Taylor's greatest contribution to the patriot cause may have been through his work as an ironmaster. During the Revolution the company he had acquired with a partner in the mid-1750s, Durham Furnace, provided much ordnance to the Continental Army for which Taylor was not fairly compensated. In 1778 the state dispossessed him of his lease on Durham Furnace which was owned by a Philadelphia Loyalist. George Taylor died in 1781 at age 65. George Taylor Super Scientists - Benjamin Franklin Image courtesy The Franklin Institute Science Museum Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) Benjamin Franklin was an American statesman who helped to write the Declaration of Independence. But he was also a writer, publisher, printer and inventor.

Franklin proved that lightning is a form of electricity with the famous, and very dangerous, kite experiment. That experiment led to his discovery of positive and negative electricity and to his development of terms we still use today: battery, conductor, condenser, charge, discharge, electric shock, and electrician. The lightning rod was among his inventions, along with the Franklin stove and bifocal glasses. Franklin also organized an effective postal system, mapped the Gulf Stream and recognized the aurora borealis as an electrical phenomenon. More about Benjamin Franklin History of Electricity - Exciting Developments in Electrical Innovation History of Electricity Click Here for E-Book Details The History of Electricity is fascinating. Despite what you have learned, Benjamin Franklin did not "invent" electricity. In fact, the History of Electric Energy did not begin when Benjamin Franklin at when he flew his kite during a thunderstorm or when light bulbs were installed in houses all around the world. So, what is electricity? The truth is that electricity, like natural resources, has always been around because it naturally exists in the world. Lightning, for instance, is simply a flow of electrons between the ground and the clouds in the form of static electricity.

When you touch something and get a shock, that is really static electricity moving toward you. Hence, electrical technology like motors, light bulbs, and batteries aren't needed for electic power to exist. They are just creative inventions designed to harness and use electric power. In the rich History of Electricity, the first discoveries were made back in ancient Greece. Greek philosophers discovered that when amber is rubbed against cloth, lightweight objects will stick to it. This is the basis of static shock. The History of Electricity. We've all heard of famous people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison, but there have been many other inventors throughout time that play a crucial part in the story of electric power. Imagine a world without electricity. No computers. No televisions. None of the modern "conveniences" we take for granted. In the late 19th Century electricity was a new marvel. People had known about electricity for many years. Benjamin Franklin first achieved world renown for his experiments with electricity, including work with his famous kite and key. Until just over a century ago there was no way for electricity to be harnessed for practical use.

It was in the late 1870s when America's greatest inventor -- Thomas Alva Edison -- developed and built the first electricity generating plant in New York City. Soon numerous electric companies were competing to supply power in the nation's major cities. The focus was on business customers, although some wealthy homeowners had electric lighting installed. Because generation capacity was so limited most homes could only have three or four electric lights. And homeowners often had to turn off one light before they could turn on another. By 1920 all of the nation's major cities had competing electric companies, each with its own sets of poles and wires. In order to bring service to more people, states began adopting laws providing for a single electric company in each city. From these laws grew the "regulatory compact" which formed the foundation of the electric utility industry in the U.S. for nearly eight decades. Efforts to understand, capture, and tame electricity began in the 18th century. For the next 150 years, dozens of "natural scientists" in England, Europe, colonial America, and later the United States analyzed electricity in nature, but producing it outside of nature was another matter.

That didn't happen on any large scale until the late 19th century. Setting the stage for widespread commercial use of electricity were international researchers engaged in pure scientific research, and entrepreneurial businessmen who made their own major discoveries or produced, marketed, and sold products based on others' ideas. Electricity Personalities Benjamin Franklin Franklin was an American writer, publisher, scientist and diplomat, who helped to draw up the famous Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. In 1752 Franklin proved that lightning and the spark from amber were one and the same thing. The story of this famous milestone is a familiar one, in which Franklin fastened an iron spike to a silken kite, which he flew during a thunderstorm, while holding the end of the kite string by an iron key. When lightening flashed, a tiny spark jumped from the key to his wrist. The experiment proved Franklin's theory, but was extremely dangerous - He could easily have been killed. Galvani and Volta In 1786, Luigi Galvani, an Italian professor of medicine, found that when the leg of a dead frog was touched by a metal knife, the leg twitched violently. Galvani thought that the muscles of the frog must contain electric energy.

By 1792 another Italian scientist, Alessandro Volta, disagreed: he realised that the main factors in Galvani's discovery were the two different metals - the steel knife and the tin plate - apon which the frog was lying. Volta showed that when moisture comes between two different metals, electric power is created. This led him to invent the first electric battery, the voltaic pile, which he made from thin sheets of copper and zinc separated by moist pasteboard. In this way, a new kind of electric power was discovered, electric power that flowed steadily like a current of water instead of discharging itself in a single spark or shock. Volta showed that electric power could be made to travel from one place to another by wire, thereby making an important contribution to the science of electric power. The unit of electrical potential, the Volt, is named after Volta. Italian physician Girolamo Cardano wrote about electric energy in De Subtilitate (1550) distinguishing, perhaps for the first time, between electrical and magnetic forces.

In 1600 the English scientist William Gilbert, in De Magnete, expanded on Cardano's work and coined the New Latin word electricus from elektron, the Greek word for "amber". The first usage of the word electric energy is ascribed to Sir Thomas Browne in his 1646 work, Pseudodoxia Epidemica. Gilbert was followed in 1660 by Otto von Guericke, who invented an early electrostatic generator. Other pioneers were Robert Boyle, who in 1675 stated that electric attraction and repulsion can act across a vacuum; Stephen Gray, who in 1729 classified materials as conductors and insulators; and C. F. du Fay who first identified the two types of electric energy that would later be called positive and negative. The Leyden jar, a type of capacitor for electrical energy in large quantities, was invented at Leiden University by Pieter van Musschenbroek in 1745. William Watson, when experimenting with the Leyden jar, discovered in 1747 that a discharge of static electricity was equivalent to an electric current.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin promoted his investigations of electrical energy and theories through the famous, though extremely dangerous, experiment of flying a kite through a storm-threatened sky. A key attached to the kite string sparked and charged a Leyden jar, thus establishing the link between lightning and electric power. Following these experiments he invented a lightning rod. It is either Franklin (more frequently) or Ebenezer Kinnersley of Philadelphia (less frequently) who is considered as the establisher of the convention of positive and negative electricity. Franklin's observations aided later scientists such as Michael Faraday, Luigi Galvani, Alessandro Volta, Andrï¿½-Marie Ampï¿½re, and Georg Simon Ohm whose work provided the basis for modern electrical technology. The work of Faraday, Volta, Ampere, and Ohm is honored by society, in that fundamental units of electrical measurement are named after them. Volta discovered that chemical reactions could be used to create positively charged anodes and negatively charged cathodes. When a conductor was attached between these, the difference in the electrical potential (also known as voltage) drove a current between them through the conductor.

The potential difference between two points is measured in units of volts in recognition of Volta's work. In 1800 Volta constructed the first device to produce a large electric current, later known as the electric battery. Napoleon, informed of his works, summoned him in 1801 for a command performance of his experiments. He received many medals and decorations, including the Lï¿½gion d'honneur. By the end of the 19th century electrical engineers had become a distinct profession, separate from physicists and inventors. They created companies that investigated, developed and perfected the techniques of electrical transmission, and gained support from governments all over the world for starting the first worldwide electrical telecommunication network, the telegraph network. Pioneers in this field included Werner von Siemens, founder of Siemens AG in 1847, and John Pender, founder of Cable & Wireless.

The late 19th and early 20th century produced such giants of electrical engineering as Nikola Tesla, inventor of the polyphase induction motor; Samuel Morse, inventor of a long-range telegraph; Thomas Edison, inventor of the first commercial electrical energy distribution network; George Westinghouse, inventor of the electric locomotive; Charles Steinmetz, theoretician of alternating current; Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone and founder of a successful telephone business.

January 12-13, 2017 - Mississauga, ON January 16-17, 2017 - Winnipeg, MB January 18-19, 2017 - Saskatoon, SK January 23-24, 2017 - Richmond, BC January 25-26, 2017 - Edmonton, AB January 16, 2017 - Richmond, BC January 18, 2017 - Edmonton, AB January 23, 2017 - Mississauga, ON January 16-17, 2017 - Richmond, BC January 18-19, 2017 - Edmonton, AB January 23-24, 2017 - Mississauga, ON January 17, 2017 - Richmond, BC January 19, 2017 - Edmonton, AB January 24, 2017 - Mississauga, ON January 30-31, 2017 - Mississauga, ON February 1-2, 2

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Johns, NL The Way to Wealth Summary | Benjamin Franklin | PDF Download Summary About Taxes A crowd gathers, awaiting the opening of the doors to an auction. An older man strolls by, and the crowd prevails upon him to share his views of the world. The old man is Father Abraham, and he has no shortage of opinions. He agrees to talk, but only briefly, since “a word ... Get the key points from this book in less than 10 minutes. Learn more about our products or log in About the Author A Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, was a statesman, revolutionary, author, inventor, scientist, firefighter and chess master. He performed breakthrough experiments on electricity, proved that lightning was an electrical phenomenon and invented the lightning rod. He also devised the Franklin Stove, a simple, effective device that captures the heat of a fireplace and reflects it back into a room; an odometer for horse-drawn carriages; and bifocal glasses. Franklin researched and named the Gulf Stream ocean current. A masterful chess player, he wrote the second known essay on chess published in the United States.

He co-founded one of the earliest volunteer firefighting companies in America and served as governor of the state of Pennsylvania. Franklin became a fervent abolitionist, freeing his slaves and opposing slavery in the United States and elsewhere. A tireless public servant, Franklin risked his fortune and his life opposing England’s rule over the American colonies. He was a leader of the American Revolution and contributed to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. He was the first Postmaster General of the United States and helped establish its postal service. During the Revolutionary War, Franklin lived in Paris as the American ambassador to France. After the war, he attended the Philadelphia Convention, which produced America’s Constitution. Franklin is a signatory of the US Constitution as well as of the Declaration of Independence. Chinyere Nwude 3 months ago The act of living below one`s means depends on discipline. Wenceslao Fernandez Jr. 1 year ago unable to ready. dissappointing. Julia Rodriguez 1 year ago Hello Wenceslao, You are unable to read the summary because you are not logged in through your company's portal. I will have someone contact you via email on how to access your account. Thank you,

Question: Which American, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, proved that lightning is a form of electricity?
Answer: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN