1 Benjamin Franklin
1706–90
A man with many strings to his bow, Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, inventor, author, publisher and diplomat – not to mention one of the nation’s most esteemed founding fathers. For decades he was enamoured with Britain, but, in time, his glowing opinion of the British soured. In 1775 he sailed back to America and firmly threw his lot in with the revolutionaries.
The next year, after signing the Declaration of Independence, Franklin was sent back across the Atlantic, where his negotiations in France led to the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, formalising French support for the colonists’ cause. Later, he helped to negotiate the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which marked the official end of the war, before going on to sign the US Constitution in 1787.
2 George Washington
1732–99
George Washington was a towering figure in the American Revolutionary War, as well as being a highly capable politician. Taking the helm of the Continental Army through the conflict, he steered the military through initial struggles to victory over the British in 1783. Six years later he became the first president of the United States.
3 Alexander Hamilton
1755/57–1804
Best known today as the protagonist in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton was one of the Revolution’s key figures. Born in the West Indies, in 1776 he joined the Continental Army where he became an aide to George Washington. He also saw action in the field, fighting at the 1781 battle of Yorktown.
