Final answer:
Benjamin Franklin, at the age of 42, retired from his printing business in 1748 to focus on philanthropic and intellectual endeavors. He helped establish important institutions like the Library Company of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. As a statesman, he significantly influenced the American Revolution and later contributed to the Constitutional Convention and abolitionist movement.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Benjamin Franklin was 42 years old, in 1748, he returned to Philadelphia and began working more on his multiple interests outside direct business. Franklin was a printer by trade, which made him wealthy and respected within his community. His success allowed him to retire from active business and focus on his various intellectual and philanthropic pursuits.
Some of these included establishing a library that became the Library Company of Philadelphia, founding the American Philosophical Society, laying the groundwork for the University of Pennsylvania, and helping to found the Pennsylvania Hospital.
Franklin's wide array of accomplishments also encompassed his contributions as a statesman. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to France, where he used his significant diplomatic skills to help negotiate the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution. His popularity in France was noteworthy, and he leveraged this to the advantage of the fledgling United States.
Moreover, Franklin's elder years saw him as the oldest delegate at the Constitutional Convention, and he was also a member of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. This multitude of roles illustrates Franklin's character as a multifaceted leader and thinker of the Enlightenment period.