In an age when fomenting and supporting revolution are claimed by young people as their special attributes, it is significant to remember that two hundred years ago the person whose contributions greatly influenced Uncle Sam and feared by the crowned heads of England and many parts of Europe as the most dangerous man in America, was Benjamin Franklin (Bowen ix). Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706. He was the tenth child of his son Josiah Franklin, who was a soap manufacturer. Benjamin's mother was Abiah Folger, Josiah's second wife (Ben's Quick Biography). Although he was born in Boston, the city of Philadelphia is remembered as the home of Ben Franklin (The World of Benjamin Franklin). Benjamin Franklin was a very important inventor in the late 18th century. His inventions reveal a man of many talents and interests, and his natural curiosity about things and how they work pushed him to look for ways to make them work better (Benjamin Franklin and his inventions). Franklin was visually impaired and needed glasses to read. Tired of taking them off and putting them back on, he decided to figure out a way to make his glasses allow him to see both near and far. He took two pairs of glasses he owned, cut them in half, and placed each half of each lens into a single frame. Today we call them bifocals (Benjamin Franklin and his inventions). Benjamin Franklin is credited with the invention of bifocal glasses, which he designed here for his friend George Whatley, a London merchant, who was also a pamphleteer (scientist and inventor). Franklin wrote, in August 1784, to his friend George Whatley, that he was “pleased with the invention of double spectacles, which served for distant objects as well as for near ones, making my eyes as… the center of the paper… ....profiting from the things he has made and discovered (Inventor of the Week). Franklin was a very important inventor in the late 18th century. Today, Ben Franklin is honored as one of the Founding Fathers and as one of America's greatest citizens (The World of Benjamin Franklin). Ben Franklin's inventions are still often used today. Other inventors have used his basic designs or ideas and improved them with today's advances (Ben Franklin's odometer). He was often ahead of his time with his inventions. His interest in books and his sense of wonder helped him create new and useful tools. He is certainly one of the most important men in American history, both for his inventions and for his political activism (Ben Franklin's odometer). Scientifically speaking, it may be the best model that 21st century American inventors can find (Inventor of the Week).