This is an image preview.
Start a Free Account
to view the full image.

Sign Up for a Free Account For information on discounts, see Plans & Pricing

Nearly 3,000 illustrations, including video clips of neurologic disorders.
Every article is reviewed by our esteemed Editorial Board for accuracy and currency.
Full spectrum of neurology in 1,200 comprehensive articles.
Listen to MedLink on the go with Audio versions of each article.

"Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky”

Download

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin with his kite in the background. After a painting by Benjamin West (1738-1820) done c1816 after Franklin had died. This dramatic painting commemorates the 1752 experiment in Philadelphia in which Franklin demonstrated that lightning is a form of electricity. While in London, West had befriended Franklin but did not paint this image until after Franklin had died. The painting was a study for a larger, unrealized portrait that West planned to give to the Pennsylvania Hospital, an institution Franklin had cofounded in 1751 with physician and surgeon Dr. Thomas Bond (1713-1784). (Source: Wellcome Trust. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International [CC BY 4.0] license, creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en.)