This Day in History: , Benjamin Franklin Flies <br />a Kite During Thunderstorm.<br />June 10, 1752.<br />Decades before signing the <br />Declaration of Independence, <br />Franklin spent nearly ten years <br />conducting electricity experiments.<br />While flying his kite in the storm, <br />the U.S. Founding Father was able <br />to collect an ambient electrical <br />charge in a leyden jar.<br />Among other things, making <br />the connection between lightning <br />and electricity led to Franklin's <br />invention of the lightning rod.<br />By the time of the<br />experiment, Franklin <br />was already a successful <br />businessman and politician.<br />His career as a statesman <br />before, during and after <br />the American Revolution <br />spanned several decades.<br />One of the leading figures <br />of the Age of Enlightenment, <br />Franklin died in 1790 at the age of 84
