1706-1790. US scientist and politician. He
proved that lightning is a form of
electricity by the experiment of flying a
kite in a storm, distinguished between
positive and negative electricity, and
invented the lightning conductor. Franklin,
born in Boston, combined a successful
printing business with scientific experiment
and inventions; he published the popular Poor
Richard's Almanac 1733-58. A member of the
Pennsylvania Assembly 1751-64, he was sent to
Britain to lobby Parliament about tax
grievances and achieved the repeal of the
Stamp Act by which Britain had imposed a tax
on all US documents; on his return to the USA
he was prominent in the deliberations leading
up to independence. He helped to draft the
Declaration of Independence and the US
constitution, and as ambassador to France
1776-85, he negotiated an alliance with
France and the peace settlement with Britain.