富兰克林(1706～1790年)
Franklin, Benjamin
美国政治家、科学家、哲学家、出版商。生於波士顿，十二岁时成为哥哥（地方的印刷商）的学徒。他自我学习写字效率，1723年迁居费城，後在那里创立《费城报》（1730～1748），并为《可怜理查的年监》写稿（1732～1757），其中的箴言和警句强调谨慎、勤奋、诚实。他开始飞黄腾达，而在费城提供公共服务，包括图书馆、消防队、医院、保险公司和後来成为宾夕法尼亚大学的学院。他的发明包括富兰克林炉和双焦眼镜，而他在电方面的实验导致避雷针的发明。他担任殖民地立法局的成员（1736～1751），并成为奥尔班尼会议的代表（1754）。在英国，他代表殖民地参与土地和税捐的辩论（1757～1762），1764年以数个殖民地特派员的身分回到英国。他最初信仰英国统治下一个统合的殖民地政府，後来在课税议题上逐渐改变立场。他协助确立《印花税法》的废止。他担任第二次大陆会议的代表，也是起草《独立宣言》的委员会成员。1776年他到法国寻求协助美国革命。他受到法国人尊崇，而与之商订了一个提供革命所需贷款和军援的条约（1778）。1781年他协助商订一个与英国之间的初步和约。身为1787年宪法会议的成员，他在美国宪法获得采用的过程中扮演一定的角色。他被视为美国历史上最超凡而才华洋溢的公仆。
English version：
1706～1790年
Franklin, Benjamin
American statesman, scientist, philosopher, and publisher. Born in Boston, he was apprenticed at 12 to his brother, a local printer. He taught himself to write effectively, and in 1723 he moved to Philadelphia, where he founded the Pennsylvania Gazette (1730-48) and wrote Poor Richard's Almanack (1732-57), whose proverbs and aphorisms emphasized prudence, industry, and honesty. He became prosperous and promoted public services in Philadelphia, including a library, fire department, hospital, and insurance company, and an academy that became the University of Pennsylvania. His inventions included the Franklin stove and bifocal spectacles, and his experiments in electricity led to the invention of the lightning rod. He served as a member of the colonial legislature (1736-51). He was a delegate to the Albany Congress (1754). He represented the colony in England in a dispute over land and taxes (1757-62); he returned there in 1764 as agent for several colonies. His initial belief in a unified colonial government under British rule gradually changed over the issue of taxation. He helped secure repeal of the Stamp Act. He served as a delegate to the second Continental Congress and a member of the committee to draft the Declaration of Independence. In 1776 he went to France to seek aid for the American Revolution. Lionized by the French, he negotiated a treaty that provided loans and military support for the Revolution (1778). In 1781 he helped negotiate a preliminary peace treaty with Britain. As a member of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he was instrumental in achieving adoption of the U.S. Constitution. He is regarded as one of the most extraordinary and brilliant public servants in U.S. history.