Did Benjamin Franklin Invent A Musical Instrument That Killed People?
The famed American statesman was a prolific inventor who built a beautiful instrument that went from wildly popular to being greatly feared
Benjamin Franklin is one of the more enduring figures in American history. The writer and statesman played a significant role in the creation of the United States, serving as an important influence at the Second Continental Congress that wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was also an inventor, with several well-known and still-used items to his credit. However, one of his innovations, a musical instrument, developed a reputation as being so dangerous that a number of people were alleged to have died and been injured from using it.
Born in Boston in 1706, Franklin moved to Philadelphia as a young man. His cleverness as a writer and scholar built his reputation and eventually made him into a well-known public figure. At various times, he served as the Postmaster General for British America, the first American Postmaster General, Minister to France and Sweden, and Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
He was a voracious mind who put his thoughts to practice, inventing bifocal glasses, lightning rods, a urinary catheter, a stove and swimming…
