In 1743, Franklin compared weather observations in letters he received from friends in other colonies. He was one of the first to observe that North American storms tend to move from west to east, and predicted that a storm's course could be plotted. He even made some of the first-recorded weather forecasts in his Poor Richard’s Almanac, a 25-year publication that Franklin first published in 1732 under the pseudonym of Richard Saunders.

In 1752, Franklin, along with his son William, performed his famous kite-flying experiment which proved that lightning is a naturally-occurring electrical phenomenon. The kite was constructed with a sharp metallic wire situated on top and at the end of the kite string, and a key tied to the end of the string with a silk ribbon. When Franklin saw loose threads on the kite string stand up, he grounded the makeshift insulated conductor by touching his knuckle to the metal key on the string. Consequently, he observed a passing spark between his knuckle and the key, which presented the final proof of lightning's electrical nature. Miraculously, the charge was not strong enough to be fatal to Franklin or his son. (Under normal circumstances, a lightning strike can instantly kill any individuals bold enough to fly a kite during a thunderstorm.)

next: Franklin's Climate Studies

On the Shoulders of Giants
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin's Climate Studies
Links and References

• More Giants
• Svante Arrhenius
• Vilhelm Bjerknes
• Rachel Carson
• Benjamin Franklin
• Robert Goddard
• Samuel Langley
• John Martin
• Milutin Milankovitch
• Roger Revelle
• Joanne Simpson
• Nicolaus Steno
• Verner Suomi
• John Tyndall
• Alfred Wegener
• Wernher von Braun

Images
Top: A portrait of Benjamin Franklin. By Roger Kammerer

Bottom: Franklin and his son, William, performing their legendary experiment in the midst of a thunderstorm. Courtesy Library of Congress