BENJAMIN

FRANKLIN
• Born: January 17, 1706, Milk
Street, Boston,
Massachusetts, United States
• Benjamin Franklin was an
American politician,
polymath, scientist, and
inventor. He is considered
one of the Founding Fathers
of the United States.
What was the most important
thing Benjamin Franklin did?

In 1752 he carried out his famous

experiment with a kite, to which
he tied a string with a key that
became charged with electricity
during a storm. Thus he showed
that clouds are charged with
electricity and that lightning is
electric discharge. Thanks to this
research he also devised the
lightning rod.
• What did Benjamin Franklin
say about electricity?
• He proposed the theory that
electricity is a 'single fluid' or
'electrical fire' that passes
from one body to another in
discharge, which led him to
enunciate the Principle of
conservation of electricity.
• Previous positions: President of
the Supreme Executive Council of
Pennsylvania (1785–1788)

• Died: April 17, 1790,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
United States