About the Benjamin Franklin initiative

The history

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

This initiative is named after the renowned statesman and diplomat Benjamin Franklin in honor of the inspiration his own life and career provides those who are working to strengthen transatlantic cooperation.

Despite modest beginnings as the son of a Boston candle maker, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), the man one biographer called “a harmonious human multitude,” became on of the most famous Americans of his time.  He helped found a new nation and defined the American character, as a writer, journalist, inventor, diplomat, educator, businessperson, musician, scientist, philosopher, humorist, and civic leader. 

Ben Franklin believed that people volunteering together in a spirit of cooperation could accomplish great things. Driven by a strong sense of civic duty, he involved himself in his community and his nation.  He shaped the Revolution, became a leader of the Enlightenment, invented the lightning rod, and was an early proponent of colonial unity.  He founded the University of Pennsylvania, as an institution offering both traditional academic instruction and preparation for “real-world” employment and activities. Still a role model today, exactly 300 years after his birth, Ben Franklin’s numerous contributions to American government, intellectualism, way of life and international understanding mark him as a worthy namesake of this innovative program.
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