num_pages: 432
description: Famous, fascinating Benjamin Franklin-he would be neither without his accomplishments in science. In this authoritative intellectual biography of America’s most brilliant and cosmopolitan Founding Father, Joyce Chaplin considers Franklin’s scientific work as a career in its own right as well as the basis of his political thought. The famous kite and other experiments with electricity were only part of Franklin’s accomplishments. He charted the Gulf Stream, made important observations in meteorology, and used the burgeoning science of “political arithmetic” to make unprecedented statements about America’s power. Even as he stepped onto the world stage as an illustrious statesman and diplomat in the years leading up to the American Revolution, his fascination with nature was unrelenting.
language: English
title: The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius
titlecomplete: The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius
genres: History, American History, Biography, Science, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 76
awards: awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Annibel Jenkins Biography Prize
publisher: Basic Books