Benjamin Franklin

American polymath and statesman (1706–1790)

  • Fame88.4
  • Momentum5.0
  • Global rank#98
Source-basedStable
  • Fame88.4
  • Momentum5.0
  • Global rank#98
  • United States rank#28
  • Politicians rank#28
  • Wikipedia253.8K
Lived 1706–1790, aged 84United States
  • Wikipedia
    143 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Global rank
    #98
    Fame.am leaderboard
  • Era
    1706–1790
    Aged 84
  • Awards
    3
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-08-24

He flew a kite in a storm and pulled electricity from the clouds, then crossed an ocean to coax a kingdom into bankrolling a revolution. Franklin built the prototype of American self-invention: printer to scientist to statesman, the only founder to sign all three founding documents.

Biography

About

Born in Massachusetts Bay in 1706, Franklin made his fortune in Philadelphia as a newspaper editor and printer, publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette at 23 and Poor Richard's Almanack under a pseudonym. His electrical experiments made him a major figure in the Enlightenment; he invented the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, and charted the Gulf Stream. As agent for the colonies in London, he led the fight to repeal the Stamp Act, then became the first U.S. ambassador to France, where his diplomacy secured the French aid that won the Revolution. He served as President of Pennsylvan…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin
said
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
This was first used by Franklin for the Pennsylvania Assembly in its "Reply to the Governor" (November 11, 1755) Reply to the Governor
Benjamin Franklin
said
why should the Palatine Boors be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours?
1751 Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind
Benjamin Franklin
said
There is something however in the experiments of points, sending off, or drawing on, the electrical fire, which has not been fully explained, and which I intend to supply...
Letter to Peter Collinson (March 2, 1750)
Benjamin Franklin
said
Remember that time is money.
Advice to a Young Tradesman, Written by an Old One (1748), as quoted by Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,
Benjamin Franklin
said
Ambition has its disappointments to sour us, but never the good fortune to satisfy us.
"On True Happiness", Pennsylvania Gazette (20 November 1735).
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
88.4
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum5.0
Historical33.1
Now attention38.1
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence