Benjamin Franklin was one of the individuals who best represented the spirit of the American Enlightenment, and was a great believer in the importance of both formal and informal programs of education. While well known for his many inventions and his famed autobiography, one of his legacies to the world and the people of Philadelphia was his role in the creation of what would later become the University of Pennsylvania. In anticipation of the tercentenary of his birth in 2006, the Penn Library and the University Archives have created this website that allows visitors to "sample the University's earliest past". The site includes a timeline for Penn from its creation in 1740 to the passing of Franklin in 1790 and various essays by Penn faculty and students about these heady times. Some of the engaging documents include Franklin's original proposal for an "academy in Philadelphia" and some of the original prayers designed for use in the original school.