Benjamin Franklin was the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Founding Father remembered during America250.
Franklin was 70 years old when he signed the Declaration in 1776. He represented Pennsylvania in the Second Continental Congress and served on the Committee of Five that helped prepare the document. His age, scientific reputation, printing career, and diplomatic experience made him one of the most prominent American figures of the era.
Franklin had already spent many years in public life. He helped establish Philadelphia’s library and fire company, conducted influential experiments with electricity, and served as a colonial agent in London. During the Revolutionary War, he negotiated the 1778 alliance with France, which brought crucial military and financial support to the American cause.
Franklin was also the only person to sign all four major documents associated with the founding era: the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Alliance with France, the Treaty of Paris, and the United States Constitution. He died in Philadelphia in 1790, four years before Washington, D.C., became the federal capital.