Posts belonging to Category Lefty Educators



Lefty Polymath Benjamin Franklin – Inventor, Writer, Political Theorist, …

Famous Left-hander Birthday, January 17

American Polymath Benjamin Franklin – Inventor, Statesman, Writer, Printer, Political Leader, Scientist, Soldier

Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706  – April 17, 1790) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. A polymath, he was an author, printer, satirist, diplomat, politician, scientist, inventor, statesman,  and soldier.  His legacy of scientific and political achievement, and distinction as one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers, saw Franklin honored in the U.S. currency, both in coinage and money; the names of many towns, counties, educational institutions, namesakes, and companies; and numerous more references.

As a scientist, he was a major figure in the Enlightenment Era.  He became remowned for his many inventions. He invented many things, such as the Franklin stove, lightning rod, bifocals, odometer, and many more. He also made discoveries relating electricity.

Franklin formed the first public lending library in America and the first fire department in Pennsylvania. An early proponent of colonial unity, and as a political writer and activist, he supported the idea of an American nation. As a diplomat during the American Revolution, Franklin secured the French alliance that helped to make independence of the U.S. possible.

Franklin became a newspaper editor, printer, and merchant in Philadelphia. He published Poor Richard’s Almanac and The Pennsylvania Gazette. He played a major role in establishing the University of Pennsylvania and was elected the first president of the American Philosophical Society.

Benjamin Franklin became a U.S. national hero when he spearheaded the effort to have Parliament repeal the unpopular Stamp Act.  An accomplished diplomat, he was a major figure in the development of the Franco-American relations, widely admired among the French as American minister to Paris.

From 1775 to 1776, Franklin was the Postmaster General, and from 1785 to 1788, the President of the Supreme Executive Ocuncil of Pennsylvania. Bejmain Franklin became one of the most prominent abolitionists in the last years of his life.

Photo Credit:  Wikimedia Commons

Photo by Michael Parker.
James Earle Fraser, sculptor

Lefty Birthday – Educator Marshall McLuhan

Famous Lefhander Birthday, July 21

Herbert Marshall McLuhan, (July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980), Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar, was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He was a professor of English literature, literary critic, and communications theorist. His work has been viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory. He is known for the expressions “global village.”