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Benjamin Franklin: Declaration of Independence signer, meteorologist far ahead of his time
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Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)
The meteorological insight of Declaration of Independence signer Benjamin Franklin was decades - if not centuries - ahead of its time:
- Through careful measurement of ocean temperature on his trans-Atlantic voyages, Franklin accurately charted the Gulf Stream ocean current.
- Franklin - after pondering summer hailstones - accurately reasoned that the atmosphere cools with height.
- Franklin accurately deduced that wind flow is often opposite of storm motion (Nor'easters actually move into a region from the southwest).
- Franklin kept meticulous daily weather records which helped discern storm patterns in the Thirteen Colonies.
- Franklin wrote extensive articles about fog, wind direction, and solar radiation.
- Franklin linked lightning with electricity and invented an American version of the lightning rod.
Benjamin Franklin links:
- Philadelphia's Franklin Institute
- scientific biography of Franklin
- more Franklin history from ushistory.org
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