Benjamin Franklin was many things in his lifetime: a printer, a postmaster, an ambassador, an author, a scientist, a Founding Father. Above all, he was an inventor, creating solutions to common problems, innovating new technology, and even making life a little more musical.

Despite creating some of the most successful and popular inventions of the modern world, Franklin never patented a single one, believing that they should be shared freely: "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."

Here are some of Benjamin Franklin’s most significant inventions: