About 250 years ago, America鈥檚 founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence鈥攂ut some were also helping lay foundations for science.
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson stood out for combining political leadership with scientific curiosity. Franklin鈥檚 experiments with electricity鈥攊ncluding his famous kite experiment鈥攈elped prove that lightning is electrical.
Thomas Jefferson approached science through observation and design. He applied scientific principles to architecture at Monticello, studied plants, animals, fossils, and weather, and carefully recorded data.
Together, Franklin and Jefferson embodied a core American ideal: the belief that knowledge empowers people. Their curiosity shows that science and American democracy grew side by side.
