Dear Wordminstrel: Good to see you posting. And a very important addition. Ben Franklin was a very remarkable man. His achievements as ambassador to France were greater than anyone else available could have accomplished. Without the help of the French which he obtained, the Revolution probably would have failed. His scientific work was an important part of the French admiration of him. It helped gain him entree into the highest levels of the influential people he needed to know to achieve his goals as ambassador.