Ingenious

Starred review from September 16, 2024
“Science, rather than being a sideline, is the through line that integrates Franklin’s diverse interests,” according to this electrifying portrait of the founding father’s scientific pursuits. Noting that Franklin’s interest in electricity went well beyond his famous 1752 kite experiment, biographer Munson (Tesla) describes how in the 1740s, Franklin tested electricity’s properties by tinkering with rudimentary batteries, a rotating electrostatic generator, and other equipment, becoming the first person to posit that “positive and negative states of electrification seek neutrality, which is the cause of electric shocks.” Franklin’s wide-ranging interests touched upon numerous disciplines, Munson observes, discussing how Franklin’s demographic studies on America’s population growth influenced English economist Thomas Malthus’s writings on overpopulation, and how Franklin’s water temperature measurements in the Gulf of Mexico determined the route of the Gulf Stream. The book’s most illuminating sections cover how his scientific interests influenced his political career. For instance, Munson discusses how during Franklin’s tenure as a diplomat to France in the late 1770s, his scientific renown had “French ministers and intelligentsia vying for audiences” with him, which he used to stir up French support for America’s war for independence. Munson proves there’s reason yet to revisit the much-studied statesman.