Benjamin Franklin
Born in Boston, he printed and experimented with electricity in Philadelphia, helped draft the Declaration of Independence and won French support as envoy in Paris.
| Lived | 1706 – 1790 |
| Known as | Scientist and statesman |
| Birthplace or main place | Boston |
| Places on the map | Boston, Philadelphia, Paris |
BostonSee the world of Benjamin Franklin in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in his lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1700) | At death (map of 1783) |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | Massachusetts Bay | United States of America |
| Philadelphia | Virginia | United States of America |
| Paris | France | same |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in his lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1770 | The Boston Massacre | Boston |
| 1773 | The Boston Tea Party | Boston |
| 1776 | The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence | Philadelphia |
| 1787 | The Constitutional Convention drafts the US Constitution | Philadelphia |
| 1789 | The Bastille is stormed on 14 July; the French Revolution begins | Paris |
| 1790 | Becomes the temporary US capital | Philadelphia |
Battles and sites of the time
- Battle of Plains of Abraham · 1759
- Battle of Lexington and Concord · 1775
- Battle of Yorktown · 1781
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1711 – 1799 | Qianlong Emperor | Qing emperor |
| 1694 – 1778 | Voltaire | Enlightenment writer |
| 1712 – 1778 | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Philosopher |
| 1724 – 1804 | Immanuel Kant | Philosopher |
| 1729 – 1796 | Catherine the Great | Empress of Russia |
| 1732 – 1799 | George Washington | First president of the United States |
| 1728 – 1779 | James Cook | Navigator |
| 1743 – 1826 | Thomas Jefferson | Third president of the United States |
| 1685 – 1750 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Composer |
| 1746 – 1792 | Tiradentes | Forerunner of Brazilian independence |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.