Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was an American founding father who served as joint deputy postmaster general for the British colonies from 1753 and became the first Postmaster General under the Continental Congress in 1775.
What they did and why it matters
Franklin built the colonial postal system into an organized delivery network, the forerunner of the US Postal Service that still delivers a large share of e-commerce parcels. As colonial postmaster he had routes surveyed and marked, sped up mail between Philadelphia and New York by running day and night, and introduced a rate chart based on distance. The Continental Congress named him the first Postmaster General in 1775. The idea of a national, scheduled delivery network with published rates continues in today's USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail services.
Related people
Events
Sources
- U.S. postal system established (HISTORY) history.com
- Benjamin Franklin, Postmaster General (Today in Science History) todayinsci.com