Benjamin Franklin
Dr Benjamin Franklin was an American scientist and statesman from Earth in the 18th century. He discovered static electricity and proved that lightning has electrical nature rather than being a fire in the sky. He had a son named William Franklin.
The First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Vicki Pallister met Franklin in 1762. They were frequent guests at his lodgings at Mrs Stevenson's. After opening the TARDIS by means of lightning, the Doctor failed to prevent Franklin from entering. The Doctor then pretended not to know how the ship operated and, when Franklin insisted on operating the controls at random, made the console live. The electric shock rendered Franklin unconscious. The Doctor expected that Franklin's memory of the TARDIS would be attributed to shock. (AUDIO: The Founding Fathers)
The Tenth Doctor once claimed to have worked with Franklin the night he discovered static electricity. He also claimed that he got rope burns from Franklin's kite, soaked and then electrocuted. (TV: Smith and Jones)
The Doctor met Franklin and fellow American founding father Alexander Hamilton on 1 July 1789. (COMIC: The Long Con)
For a while, Franklin was the owner of a mysterious living hand. It was later reacquired by Alexander Monro to create a clone of himself: Alexander Monro III. (PROSE: The Many Hands)
Alternate timeline
In a timeline created when the Web of Time was broken, Franklin served as President of the United States. This version of Franklin was a member of the Hellfire Club. (AUDIO: Seasons of Fear, Neverland)
Behind the scenes
- The comic story Who Was 'Ere!, from The Doctor Who Fun Book, which is not considered a valid source on this Wiki due to its parodical nature, provided an alternate version of the Doctor's involvement in the night of Ben Franklin's experiments with kites and electricity. In this version, it was the Third Doctor who accompanied his friend Ben, and he lent him some rubber-soled shoees after the first electrocution-causing mishap.
- He was played by Howard Da Silva in the film 1776.
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