page_title: Benjamin Franklin
section_title: Ambassador to France: 1776–1785
hierarchical_section_title: Benjamin Franklin / Public life / Ambassador to France: 1776–1785
caption_attribution_description: English: "LIBERTAS AMERICANA" Silver Medallion, 1783. Designed by Benjamin Franklin and Esprit-Antoine Gibelin; sculpted/engraved by Augustin Dupré. Struck at the "Mint for Medals at the Louvre", Paris, France. Silver, 47.5mm, 45.7 gm (1.612 oz) Obverse: LIBERTAS AMERICANA (American Liberty) across the top over a bust of Liberty with flowing hair and Phrygian cap on a pole behind her. The Date 4 JUIL. 1776 (4 July 1776) is spelled from the shortened French form 4 JUILLET 1776, in the exergue, Signature DUPRE appears at the truncation of the bust. Reverse: The infant Hercules, symbolic of the United States, strangling two snakes that represent the British armies at the Battle of Saratoga and Siege of Yorktown; Minerva at the left with the fleurs-de-lis of France on her shield and a spear in hand thwarting the attack of a lion representing Britain. Above is the motto NON SINE DIIS ANIMOSUS INFANS, from Horace's ode "Descende coelo" translates "The infant is not bold without the aide of the gods." Two dates with a common month, 17 OCT. 1777 and 19 OCT. 1781 (shortened OCTOBRE, French for October), in the exergue signify the American victories at Saratoga and Yorktown. Signature DUPRE F. appears at the lion's feet. Medallion Composite digital image Français&#160;: En 1783, le sculpteur Augustin Dupré réalise, à la demande de Franklin, une médaille pour rendre hommage à la France et célébrer l’Indépendance de l’Amérique. La médaille porte le nom de "Libertas americana", elle représente un visage de femme les cheveux au vent et le bonnet de la liberté au bout d’une lance appuyée sur l’épaule.Українська: "LIBERTAS AMERICANA" срібна медаль, 1783
context_page_description: Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSA FRSE was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania.
  Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation.
context_section_description: In December 1776, Franklin was dispatched to France as commissioner for the United States. He took with him as secretary his 16-year-old grandson, William Temple Franklin. They lived in a home in the Parisian suburb of Passy, donated by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, who supported the United States. Franklin remained in France until 1785. He conducted the affairs of his country toward the French nation with great success, which included securing a critical military alliance in 1778 and negotiating the Treaty of Paris (1783).
  Among his associates in France was Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau—a French Revolutionary writer, orator and statesman who in early 1791 would be elected president of the National Assembly. In July 1784, Franklin met with Mirabeau and contributed anonymous materials that the Frenchman used in his first signed work: Considerations sur l'ordre de Cincinnatus. The publication was critical of the Society of the Cincinnati, established in the United States. Franklin and Mirabeau thought of it as a "noble order", inconsistent with the egalitarian ideals of the new republic.
  During his stay in France, Benjamin Franklin was active as a Freemason, serving as Venerable Master of the Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs from 1779 until 1781. He was the 106th member of the Lodge. In 1784, when Franz Mesmer began to publicize his theory of "animal magnetism" which was considered offensive by many, Louis XVI appointed a commission to investigate it. These included the chemist Antoine Lavoisier, the physician Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailly, and Benjamin Franklin. In 1781, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  Franklin's advocacy for religious tolerance in France contributed to arguments made by French philosophers and politicians that resulted in Louis XVI's signing of the Edict of Versailles in November 1787. This edict effectively nullified the Edict of Fontainebleau, which had denied non-Catholics civil status and the right to openly practice their faith.
  Franklin also served as American minister to Sweden, although he never visited that country. He negotiated a treaty that was signed in April 1783. On August 27, 1783, in Paris, Franklin witnessed the world's first hydrogen balloon flight. Le Globe, created by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, was watched by a vast crowd as it rose from the Champ de Mars (now the site of the Eiffel Tower). Franklin became so enthusiastic that he subscribed financially to the next project to build a manned hydrogen balloon. On December 1, 1783, Franklin was seated in the special enclosure for honoured guests when La Charlière took off from the Jardin des Tuileries, piloted by Jacques Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert.
caption: While in France Franklin designed and commissioned Augustin Dupré to engrave the medallion "Libertas Americana" minted in Paris in 1783.
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