Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706. He was one of 17 children and helped his father make candles and soap in his early childhood. Franklin received only two years of formal schooling but was very intelligent. He invented swimming paddles and helped his older brother in his printing business. Franklin made important contributions such as discovering that lightning and electricity are the same, inventing the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove. He also helped write the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Franklin overcame obstacles when he was in the civil war and died at his home in 1790 after being sick. He was a famous inventor, author, politician and scientist.