Ben Franklin lives in your smartphone
A true polymath, Ben Franklin was also the first to take temperature measurements of the Atlantic and make exhaustive records of what he determined to be the Gulf Stream, on his trans-Atlantic voyages to England.
Being from Philly, there's a lot of information about Ben. He was a pretty smart dude. Here is a list of stuff attributed to him; There's probably much more.
INVENTIONS
Swim fins (1717)
Franklin stove (1741)
Printed First Library Catalog (1741)
Lightning rod (1750)
Waste Management (1751)
Pole Mounted Street Lamp (1751
Insurance (1751)
Flexible catheter (1752)
Rate Chart for Postage (1753)
24-hour Military Time( Clock1757)
Armonica Music Instrument (1762)
Bifocals (1784)
Long Extension Reaching Arm (1786)
Daylight Savings Time (1786)
DISCOVERIES
Positive & Negative. Polarity (1747)
Weather Systems (1743)
Electricity in Lightening (1751)
Lead as a Poison (1768)
Common Cold As Communicable (1773)
FOUNDED
First Library US (1731)
First Volunteer Fire Company(1736)
American Philosophical Society (1743)
University of Pennsylvania (1st) (1749)
America’s First Hospital (1751)
First Insurance Company (1752)
US as a Confederation (1754)
I always thought a more direct link to the smartphone for Benjamin Franklin was as the inventor of the American Mail Order Catalog in 1744. Ha, ha. Kidding.
And as the first Postmaster General. [dingley.com]
From the link
Benjamin Franklin is thought of as the first British American cataloger. It begins in 1744 when he published a catalog of science books.