Opinion: Ben Franklin's Electrifying Contribution to America's Founding

In our media-saturated culture, many people yearn for fame as they watch the antics of Snooki, Britney, Lindsay and "The Situation." Unfortunately, their example is all too often the wacky, the troubled and the salacious. But fame can also be a well-deserved asset, earned by mind power, sacrifices, hard work and ingenuity.

Today, Jan. 17, is the 305th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth in 1706. Franklin's fame was not only deserved, but it played a huge role in winning the American Revolution ... but you may not know the whole story of how Franklin came to fame.

Franklin was independently wealthy by the time he was in his 40s. After retiring, Franklin became interested in what was then a fad: performing tricks with static electricity, such as making someone's hair stand on end. Franklin soon realized the wider implications of the power of electricity and began performing detailed experiments that would make him a household name, paving the way for his involvement in the Revolution.

Franklin discovered that electricity can be stored and transferred from one object to another. This transfer is what creates the electrical shock we've all experienced. He learned that electricity has a positive or negative charge and created the first electrical battery. He coined terms such as "positive" and "negative," "condenser," "conductor," "battery," "charging" and "discharging." Franklin framed much of our basic understanding about electricity.

Franklin noticed many similarities between electricity and lightning. He wondered if lightning was actually electrical in nature, postulating that a rod placed at a high point should be able to extract the electrical charge from a passing thundercloud.

Franklin wrote about his observations in a series of letters to a friend in London who realized their significance. He asked Franklin if he could publish the letters in a booklet. This booklet spread Franklin's observations across Europe, becoming one of the most widely printed books of the century and turning Franklin into an international celebrity.

Franklin's lightning-rod experiment was first performed by a Frenchman, proving that lightning was electricity. Franklin later performed the experiment himself, modifying the original idea by using a kite instead of a tall building. He was the second to perform it, but is still credited with creating the theory and the idea for the experiment. Consequently, lightning rods popped up all over Europe and the colonies.

Some 20 years later, the Second Continental Congress appointed Ben Franklin ambassador to France to procure military and financial support to help in the fight for independence. Franklin arrived in France to great fanfare and celebrity, thanks to his electrical studies.

Indeed, he was flabbergasted at his fame. He wrote to his daughter, "My picture is everywhere, on the lids of snuff boxes, on rings, busts. The numbers sold are incredible. My portrait is a best seller, you have prints, and copies of prints and copies of copies spread everywhere. Your father's face is now as well known as the man in the moon!"

This incredible fame caused Franklin to be well-received in France, even by King Louis XVI. Franklin received the support he sought in the form of military officers, naval assistance and financial gifts. French officers helped Washington lead the Continental Army; French money paid their salaries and bought their ammunition; and the French navy defeated the British at the Battle of the Chesapeake and cornered Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Franklin's fame gained him access to the king and to the supplies and money needed to win the war. So the next time you feel jealous of Snooki, Britney or Lindsay, don't think you have to act outrageous to earn fame, the way they do.

Instead, get noticed for your hard work, sacrifice and brainpower, the way Franklin and many others did. Let their examples guide you toward the recognition you deserve.

Brian Michael is the creator and resident historian of Revolutionary-War-and-Beyond.com, an informational website that provides a wealth of knowledge about our Founding Fathers and their society. Benjamin Franklin is featured prominently on the website.