Jan 17, 1706 - Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Josiah and Abiah (Folger) Franklin.
1714 - Invents swim fins to enable him to swim faster.
1722 - Writes the Silence Dogood essays.
1730 - Becomes common law husband to Deborah Read Rogers.
1731 - Founded the first lending library.
1732 - Publishes the first edition of Poor Richard's Almanack.
1734 - Became a Grand Master of a Masonic Lodge.
1736 - Founded the Union Fire Company.
1737 - Was appointed the Postmaster of Philadelphia.
1741 - Invented the Pennsylvania Fireplace, later called the Franklin stove.
1743 - Founds the American Philosophical Society.
1752 - Conducts an experiment with a kite in a lightning storm, which provides evidence to his theory that lightning is related to electricity.
1752 - Founded the first fire insurance company.
1753 - Is appointed joint Deputy Postmaster of the United States.
1756 - Invents a new type of street lamp.
1774 - His wife of 44 years, Deborah, dies while Franklin is in England.
1775 - Is elected as a delegate of Pennsylvania to the second Continental Congress.
1775 - Is elected Postmaster General of the colonies.
1775 - Submits the "Articles of Confederation of United Colonies."
1776 - Serves on the "Committee of Five" who drafted the Declaration of Independence.
1776 - Signs the Declaration of Independence.
1776 - Presided over Pennsylvania's Constitutional Convention.
1778 - Negotiates the "Treaty of Alliance With France."
1779 - Appointed as Minister to France.
1782 - Starts negotiation for peace with Great Britain. Insists on including France in the treaty.
1783 - Signed the "Paris Peace Treaty," formally ending the American Revolution.
1783 - Invents the bifocal lens.
1787 - Franklin serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
1787 - Franklin signs the Constitution of the United States.
1787 - 1789 - Elected president of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery.
April 17, 1790 - Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia