Ben Franklin would be turning 300 today, had he not inadvertantly died a few centuries ago.
(It always strikes me as weird to celebrate how old people would be if they were still alive. It's not like "Happy 300th!" is anything like, "Congratulations! You're old enough to drive!" I don't mind celebrating the birthday itself as a way to honor their memory, but it seems a little pointless to continue to keep score.)
All flippancy aside, he's someone I admire not just because of his specific contributions in various areas of import (eg, science, diplomacy, public services, etc.) but because he was able to achieve so much in so many. Franklin was not one to be bound by the limitations of a single discipline, which in and of itself is something I personally find inspriational.
Ann Althouse recommends that in honor of his birthday we should all "go accomplish something."
Me, I'm working on it. (&%^ing moot court brief!)
Still, as we celebrate the life story of this great man, I can't help but notice the particular fact that Franklin got the hell out of Boston at the earliest opportunity...
Edited.
Edit 1/19: Let me rephrase - he left Boston to go on to do big things. Sounds like a good plan to me.