1To Benjamin Franklin from Rodolphe Valltravers, 25 April 1777 (Franklin Papers)
AL : American Philosophical Society Our predecessors’ introduction of Valltravers, at the time when he and Franklin were acquainted in London, called him “a shadowy, though well-meaning, figure.” Although he is still somewhat shadowy, we now know more about him. He was born in Berne in 1723 and died in 1814 or 1815. He came to England in 1750, was naturalized in 1757, and the next year married...