On this day in history, June 10, 1752, Benjamin Franklin reportedly flew a kite during a thunderstorm, with the goal of collecting ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar — a container that could ...

Benjamin Franklin, scientist, philosopher, author and the most celebrated American on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the era of revolution, was born on this day in history, Jan. 17, 1706. The ...

The Founding Fathers were a quiltwork of conflicting personalities. George Washington was dignified and coolly aloof. Thomas Jefferson went around with his head in the clouds. John Adams was ...

Exactly 300 years ago, in 1721, Benjamin Franklin and his fellow American colonists faced a deadly smallpox outbreak. Their varying responses constitute an eerily prescient object lesson for today's ...

University of Mississippi graduate history instructor Kelsa Pellettiere talked about Benjamin Franklin's role in France during the American Revolutionary era, the challenges he faced, and his related ...