In December 1754 Benjamin Franklin wrote to his friend Peter Collinson about his angst over the failure of the colonies to forge a union, especially with war against France on the horizon. Collinson was a London intellectual who often corresponded with Franklin about his scientific studies and experiments. Collinson was a fellow of the Royal Society and a middleman for an international exchange of scientific ideas coming into and out of London, England. Collinson maintained correspondence with notable scientists in London and abroad, including Franklin. He also served as a patron of the Philadelphia scientific community, assisting with the American Philosophical Society that was founded by Franklin in 1754. In a series of letters written to Collinson in 1754 and 1755, Franklin not only corresponded about scientific advancements and experimentation—some of which Collinson funded specifically for Franklin—but he also spoke on the need for colonial political advancement and unity.