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Benjamin Franklin, American scientist, inventor and statesman, late 18th century. Franklin (1706-1790) was a member of the committee which drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Trained as a printer, first in his family's firm in Boston, and later in England, he became a notable publisher but is now better known as one of the founders of the science of electricity. Franklin became interested in the principles of electricity in 1747 and published Experiments and Observations on electricity in London in 1751. He was responsible for several inventions, including the lightning conductor and bifocal spectacles.