Ben Franklin’s Involvement in the Age of Reason The well-known Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 and died in 1790. In between the two dates, he was busy working and inventing things that would improve the world around him. He contributed many things to the Age of Reason other than his world famous inventions. Ben Franklin is a representative of the Age of Reason. One way Franklin reflected the Age of Reason was with his optimism of human capability and his belief in progress. He wanted not only wanted to better himself, although later proved to be quite important to