Did Franklin Really Fly a Kite in a Thunderstorm?

Benjamin Franklin was one of the most interesting figures in early American history. Not only was he a brilliant statesmen and diplomat, but he was an author, an inventor, a businessman, and a scientists. Given his many accomplishments, it makes sense that many stories have passed down about him over the years. One of the most popular stories concerns his experiments with electricity. Supposedly, Franklin flew a kite in thunderstorm to prove that lightening was the same as electricity. Is there any truth to this?

It is difficult to establish whether or not Franklin ever flew the kite in the lightening storm. We do know that he published an article in 1750 in which he proposed conducting an experiment during which one would fly a kite in a storm that appeared likely to produce lightening. Two years later, a Frenchmen named Thomas-Francois Balibard did conduct the experiment although he used a 40 foot iron rod instead of a kite.

Franklin may have conducted his experiment on June 15th in 1752. This is difficult to prove because he left no record of it at all. The first mention of the experiment apart from the paper Franklin wrote theorizing that it was possible, did not come until fifteen years later in a book called “History and Present State of Electricity” by Josepeh Priestley. Although Franklin read an early version of the book and presumably related the details of his experience to Priestly, he never made any mention of it himself. It seems unlikely that he would never speak of an experiment he had risked his life to perform if he had actually performed it, so we should remain skeptical of the traditional story.

The traditional story is flawed in other ways as well. The popular image of Franklin flying a kite and waiting for it to be struck by lightening is completely inaccurate. He would not have done that because he would have known that any “success” at drawing lightening from the clouds would have killed him instantly! On the other hand, he may have been brave enough to simply hold the kite there long enough for the electric charge in the cloud to travel down the kite. Touching the key attached to the kite would have shocked him, but would have been minor to actual lightening. Alternatively, he could have used some type of insulation to protect himself.

Whether or not Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm on June 15th, 1752 is immaterial. The important thing is that he knew enough about electricity to invent the lightening rod, a device which channels electrical charges into the ground. We still use this device today and it saves thousands of lives and millions of dollars worth of property every year.