On June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin proved the relationship between lightning and electricity by flying a kite during a rainstorm and collecting ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar. Franklin developed an interest in electricity in the mid-1740s, when much about the subject remained unknown, and spent nearly a decade doing electrical experiments. He invented several words that are still in use today, such as battery, conductor, and electrician. He also invented the lightning rod, which is still used this day to protect buildings and ships from lightning strikes.
Franklin was born in Boston on January 17, 1706, to Josiah Franklin, a candle and soap maker who fathered 17 children, and his wife Abiah Folger. Franklin completed his formal education at the age of ten and began working as an apprentice to his brother James, a printer. Franklin left Boston in 1723, following a conflict with his brother, and moved to Philadelphia, where he landed a job as a printer. Following a short stint as a printer in London, Franklin came back to Philadelphia and established himself as a successful businessman, publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette and Poor Richard's Almanack, a collection of homegrown proverbs emphasizing the importance of hard work and honesty in order to succeed. The Franklin's almanac, which he initially published under the pen name Richard Saunders in 1733, had such gems as "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man well, prosperous, and wise."
Along with his business and scientific accomplishments, Franklin is well-known for his many civic contributions. He founded a library, an insurance business, a municipal hospital, and an academy in Philadelphia that would ultimately become the University of Pennsylvania.
Most importantly, Franklin was a founding father of the United States and had a four-decade career as a statesman. He was a Pennsylvania legislator and a diplomat in England and France. He is the only politician to have signed all four founding documents of the United States: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Alliance Treaty with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris (1783), which secured peace with Great Britain, and the United States Constitution (1787).
Franklin died in Philadelphia on April 17, 1790, at the age of 84. He remains one of the most significant icons of American history.
To honor this truly great American hero, order a bag of Mount Rushmore Coffee Company's "Benjamin Franklin's Electric Espresso" dark roast coffee today!