Franklin Configuration

Benjamin Franklin, today known primarily for his central role in founding the United States, was in his own time internationally recognized as one of America’s leading scientists, primarily for his work with electricity and energy. Franklin's theory of electricity laid the foundation for the science of electrostatics. He coined many of the electrical terms we use today, such as battery, conductor, condenser, positive and negative charge, electric shock, and electrician. He is also remembered as the inventor of the Franklin stove, lightning rod, bifocals, medical catheter, swim fins, glass armonica, and odometer.

Franklin’s scientific interests were wide-ranging and pioneering. He was the first to realize that the Earth's climate could change, first to plot the course of a hurricane, and first to chart the Gulf Stream. He studied cooling by evaporation, experimented with oil films on water, warned of the dangers of lead poisoning, and hypothesized about continental drift and the wave theory of light. Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society to help scientists share their discoveries.

Franklin won every major scientific honor of his time, including the Royal Society's Copley Medal (the equivalent of today’s Nobel Prize); election to the Royal Societies of England, France, and Germany; and honorary degrees from Oxford and other universities. His fame as a scientist opened doors and paved the way for his success as a diplomat during the American Revolution and the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris.

(Portrait: 1777, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze)