Benjamin Franklin Plaque

Benjamin Franklin Plaque

Natural Philosophy

In 1759, during a visit to the city, the great American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) was awarded an Honorary Degree in Law from the University of St Andrews and was given the Freedom of the Burgh. At this time Franklin was resident in London as the representative of the Pennsylvania Assembly. The honorary degree was awarded to him in recognition of his work on electricity. In 1748 he had invented a new type of electric battery using sheets of glass sandwiched between lead plates. Hi most famous experiment was conducted in 1752, when he showed that lightening was electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm, by collecting some of the charge from the clouds in a battery connected to the kite. This was a very dangerous experiment, as Franklin could have been struck by lightning, although he was careful to stand on a sheet of material that did not conduct electricity to protect himself while flying the kite. In 2002 a plaque was unveiled on North Street to commemorate Franklin's visit to St Andrews.

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