printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; he helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; he played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity (1706-1790)
"I resolve to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a matter of truth but rather by some meansexcuse the faults I hear charged upon others, and upon proper occasions speak all the good I know of everybody."
