William Franklin was Benjamin’s first child and his only son to survive into adulthood. His exact birthday is unknown, as is the identity of his mother, but he was born sometime around 1730 ...

most notably including the English physicist Robert William Boyle in 1675. Benjamin Franklin made plenty of his own ...

Ever prescient, John Adams rightly predicted that Benjamin ... however, Franklin died on April 17, 1790. The nation, and particularly Philadelphia, mourned the loss of its favorite son and paid ...