Hand-colored lithograph published by Currier & Ives in 1876, probably the most widely distributed illustration of Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment. Franklin is wrongly shown to be holding the ...

Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a storm and advanced humanity's understanding of electricity on this day in history, June 10, 1752. Franklin was also a U.S. statesman and founding father.

It highlights significant discoveries, starting with Thales of Miletus's observation of static electricity from amber, followed by Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment that linked lightning to ...

Ken Burns’s four-hour documentary, Benjamin Franklin, explores the revolutionary life of one of the 18th century’s most consequential figures, whose work and words unlocked the mystery of ...

A new biography of Franklin, titled Ingenious, dispels some of the misunderstandings about that experiment and about Franklin’s science more broadly.

In the play “Franklinland,” Benjamin Franklin’s son takes centerstage in an exploration of his father’s life as a scientist, statesperson, and parent.

Noting that Franklin’s interest in electricity went well beyond his famous 1752 kite experiment, biographer Munson (Tesla) describes how in the 1740s, Franklin tested electricity’s properties ...

Benjamin Franklin Was the Nation’s First Newsman Before he helped launch a revolution, Benjamin Franklin was colonial America’s leading editor and printer of novels, almanacs, soap wrappers ...

Benjamin Franklin: 45 Things You Never Knew About Philly’s Own Founding Father In advance of the new Ken Burns documentary, the lowdown on the life and loves of the Philly icon.

Franklin’s autobiography has been called “the first great masterpiece of autobiography by a self-made man.” From humble beginnings he made himself into a pioneering journalist, brilliant ...