Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (17 January 1706 &#91;O.S. 6 January 1705]–17 April 1790) was a printer, inventor, philosopher, and statesman. He wrote and published pamphlets promoting his inventions, but never patented any of them or contested their patenting by others. He wrote that "as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."