Benjamin Franklin, son of a soap and candle maker, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1706. He was the fifteenth of 17 children. After attending the Latin School in Boston for just two years, it was decided that he would become a printer because of his love of books. In 1726 he established his own printing business and purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette, one of the largest newspapers in the United States. In 1737 he became deputy postmaster of Philadelphia and was a member of the colony's legislature. Franklin was not only a statesman and a diplomat, he was an inventor, a scientist, a writer, a printer, and an editor. Benjamin Franklin was a genius and contributed so much to the modern world we live in today. In the 18th century, electricity was a mysterious force, and scientists like Benjamin Franklin began conducting experiments to test his theories. “In ancient times, lightning was believed to be the javelins that the god Jupiter hurled at his enemies, and they were called Jupiter's thunderbolts. In more modern times lightning was believed to be God's method of punishing pe...