|
The writer used the pen
name of a fictional middle-aged widow, Ms. Silence Dogood. The
columns were a hit and, after writing 15 columns, the writer
revealed the identity behind Silence Dogood. It turns out that
Silence wasn't middle-aged after all. In fact, she wasn't even a
woman; she was a 16-year-old boy by the name of… Ben Franklin!
Ben Franklin -- the writer, inventor, scientist, statesman,
publisher and signer of the Declaration of Independence -- was born
300 years ago on Jan. 17, 1706. He was the youngest of 16 kids,
including six half siblings born to his father's first wife. He was
the youngest son of a youngest son, as was his father, his
grandfather, his great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather
-- making it five consecutive generations of youngest sons.
Yes, the writer who later took the pen name of Richard Saunders
when he wrote the popular Poor Richard's Almanack got his start as
Silence Dogood. His Almanack, which he published each year for 25
years, became a best-selling book and is still available today.
But there's something else about Ben Franklin that you probably
didn't know.
Ben Franklin wasn't the first person to discover electricity. He
didn't even coin the word "electricity." That honor went to William
Gilbert in 1600, who was the personal physician for both Queen
Elizabeth I and her successor, King James.
Dr. Gilbert coined the word "electricity" from the Greek word for
amber. He showed that two substances known as amber and jet would
work as a magnet when rubbed together, forming the basis for static
electricity. Ben Franklin improved upon those findings when he
proved during his lightning-and-key experiment in 1752 that
lightning and the spark from amber were basically the same thing
Ben Franklin is credited with discovering electricity because he
was the first one who harnessed its use after he invented the
lightning rod. Just as Gilbert's work paved the way for Franklin,
Franklin's work paved the way for Edison, Tesla and others. A few
other pioneers in the field of electricity who came after Franklin
and whose names you might recognize include Italy's Alessandro Volta
(as in electrical voltage), Scotland's James Watt, France's Andre
Ampere, Germany's George Ohm, England's Michael Faraday and Italy's
Luigi Galvani.
[to top of second column]
 |
While the application of electricity was Ben Franklin's greatest
scientific achievement, he also invented many other items that we
still use today -- more than 215 years after he died. Among them is
the odometer, which he invented when he was postmaster general to
measure the distance that mail carriers traveled. This was 80 years
before the invention of postage stamps, and the amount of postage
was calculated by the distance the mail carrier had to travel to
deliver it. Franklin, by the way, was the first postmaster general
of the United States.
He also invented bifocals, the Franklin stove, swimming fins and
many other inventions. He gave away most of his inventions rather
than profit from them. He was also the first person to suggest the
idea of daylight-saving time, even though it wasn't implemented
until long after he died.
He established the first fire department as well as the first
public library. He was the first person to have his image appear on
a U.S. stamp -- before any United States presidents achieved this
feat. His image also appears on the largest American currency, the
$100 bill.
Most people can be defined by what they did for a living or by
their greatest achievements. Ben Franklin, though, can't be defined
solely as a great inventor or as a publisher or as the person who
harnessed electricity, because his greatest contribution was the
role he played in helping the United States gain its independence
from England.
Or was his greatest contribution the ability to harness
electricity?
As for Dr. Gilbert, he died as a bachelor at age 60 in 1603. It's
too bad that he didn't meet that middle-aged widow, Silence Dogood.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at
niemann7@aol.com. You can learn more about Ben Franklin by
visiting the official Invention Mysteries
website.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2006 |
