Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, and died on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Franklin was an American polymath. He focused on subjects such as writing, science, politics, and printing. He was considered a great intellectual of his time and a Founding Father of the United States. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence, was the “middleman” between the US and France during the American Revolution, and served as the first United States Postmaster General.