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Franklin's
Leyden Jars, now at the American Philosophical Society. After earning
enough to retire as a gentleman, Franklin undertook electrical experiments,
which led him among other achievements to explain the action of these
capacitors in terms of positive and negative electricity. When he went
to Paris as ambassador of the newborn American republic, Franklin's
fame as the "Newton of Electricity" gave him an entree to
French society that provided crucial leverage in gaining the support
that proved invaluable for the nation's independence. Photo by Peter
Harholdt.
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