1752    Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, is opened by Benjamin Franklin.

1752    Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity.

1775    The first abolition society in North America is established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.

1776    The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.

1776    Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.

1995    The Government of the United States unveils the first of its redesigned bank notes with the $100 bill featuring a larger portrait of Benjamin Franklin slightly off-center.