Born in Boston, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) may be regarded as a transatlantic personality par excellence. An author, statesman, entrepreneur, scientist, inventor and philanthropist, Franklin lived his life alternately on both sides of the Atlantic. Among his countless activities figure those of a leading newspaper editor in Philadelphia, being one of the most influential founding fathers of the United States, the founder of Columbia University and first US ambassador to France in the period following the Declaration of Independence. He helped to draft the Declaration of Independence and negotiate the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War.

More information about Benjamin Franklin can be found on the website of ‘The Franklin Institute’.