January 1, 1934: The Franklin Institute Opens In Philadelphia

January 1, 1934: The current building of the Franklin Institute opens in Philadelphia, at 222 North 20th Street, at the northwestern edge of Center City, and along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum and The Academy of Natural Sciences are also along the Parkway.

Dr. Franklin (born January 17, 1706 in Boston; died April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia) was the most famous American before independence in 1776, and arguably the most important figure in the American Revolution, ahead of even George Washington. Even before the Revolution, he was America's leading printer, its first postmaster, its first fire marshal, the founder of the University of Pennsylvania (who have played at a stadium named Franklin Field since 1895), and its greatest scientist.

The story that he "discovered electricity" in 1752 by flying a kite in a storm is ridiculous. Electricity was already known. What he did was suggest that flying a kite in a storm could prove that lightning was electricity, but whether he actually carried the experiment out is unclear.

Franklin was one of five men assigned by the Continental Congress to compose The Declaration of Independence in 1776, along with John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, and the man who did the actual writing, Thomas Jefferson. The other four edited Jefferson's words, some to his objections. During the debate over independence, Franklin, already known for his wisdom and witticisms, told the delegates, "We must all hang together, or, surely, we shall all hang separately."

He then went to France, to enlist their aid against their common enemy, Britain. America would not have won that war without France. He represented America at the signing of the peace treaty, the Treaty of Paris, in 1783.

Six men signed both The Declaration and, in 1787, the Constitution of the United States, both at what is now named Independence Hall in Philadelphia: From Pennsylvania, Franklin, Robert Morris, George Clymer and James Wilson; from Connecticut, Sherman; and from Delaware, George Read.

Washington had been chosen as President of the Constitutional Convention. His chair had the image of half a Sun on it. After the Constitution was approved, Franklin said, "Now, I know: It is a rising, and not a setting, Sun." But when he left the Hall, someone asked him what kind of government was approved. He said, "A republic, if you can keep it."

From 1948 to 1963, Franklin's right profile appeared on the half-dollar, the 50-cent coin. Since 1914, his portrait has appeared on the $100 bill. Since the Roman numeral for 100 is the letter C, $100 bills have been nicknamed C-notes. However, due to Franklin's picture, they have also been called Big Bens, and hip-hop culture has led to them being called Benjamins.

Towns all over America have been named for Franklin, including in Somerset County and Sussex County, New Jersey. There are high schools named for him in East Harlem, Manhattan's East Harlem, New Orleans, and, as you might guess, Philadelphia, on North Broad Street, about a mile from the Institute.

He has been played by Walter Walker in the 1938 film Marie Antoinette, Orson Welles in the 1954 film Affairs at Versailles, Welles again in the 1961 film La Fayette, Howard da Silva in the 1972 film version of the musical 1776, Robert Symonds in the 1976 PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles, Fredd Wayne in the 1987 film A More Perfect Union, Philip Bosco in the 1997 PBS miniseries Liberty! The American Revolution, Richard Easton in the 2002 PBS miniseries Benjamin Franklin, Tom Wilkinson in the 2008 HBO miniseries John Adams, and Dean Norris in the 2015 History Channel series Sons of Liberty. In another PBS documentary titled Benjamin Franklin, directed by Ken Burns in 2022, he was voiced by Mandy Patinkin. Oddly, while he is mentioned in Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton, he does not appear onstage as a character.

Given Franklin's penchants for both science humor, it's not surprising that he has featured in time-travel stories and comedies. The TV shows Bewitched, Saturday Night Live and MADtv have all brought him forward in time to comment on what were then current events. John Sumner played him in a 2001 episode of the syndicated TV series Jack of All Trades, showing his proposed submarine as a successful invention, even though the show takes place in 1801, well after his death. "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist played him on a 2011 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, in which he is portrayed as a salesman, fully aware of events since his death, against the late TV commercial pitchman Billy Mays.

Franklin's life and career were key to the plot of the 2004 film National Treasure, which filmed on location at both the Franklin Institute and Independence Hall. The lead character, played by Nicolas Cage, is named Benjamin Franklin Gates. Other notable fictional characters named for him include Lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton in the 1904 opera Madama Butterfly, Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda), on M*A*S*H, baseball star Benjamin Franklin "Benny the Jet" Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) in The Sandlot, and teacher Benjamin Franklin Chang (Ken Jeong) in Community. And the mascot for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers is a dog named Franklin.

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On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughan Merrick and William H. Keating founded The Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. Within 3 years of its founding, that promotion had already taken place through public lectures, a high school, a library, public exhibitions, and a research journal. Many of these endeavors remain core activities of The Franklin Institute (TFI) to this day.

Since then, The Franklin Institute has played a central, yet constantly evolving, role in meeting America's educational needs in the fields of science and technology. For the organization's 1st century, classes were offered in mechanics, drafting, and engineering, and promoted science and invention.

In 1930, despite the Great Depression, The Franklin Institute and the Poor Richard Club began to seek funds to build a new science museum and memorial hall. In just 12 days, the community contributed $5.1 million, and in 1932, the cornerstone of the new Franklin Institute was laid at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The Franklin Institute Science Museum opened to the public on January 1, 1934, titling itself a "Wonderland of Science," and was one of the first museums in the nation to offer a hands-on approach to learning about the physical world. Three major capital campaigns (1990, 2003, and 2012) enabled physical and programmatic expansion, resulting in the existing facility, which contains more than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space and two auditoriums.

TFI also operates the Fels Planetarium, the second oldest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere. The museum is home to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, which was fully restored in 2010 and is open free to the public. It is one of just a handful of national memorials in the custody of a private institution.

In 2014, the museum opened the 53,000-square-foot Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pavilion, which houses a STEM education and conference center, a climate-controlled traveling exhibition gallery, the award-winning exhibit Your Brain, in which visitors can explore neuroscience and their own senses.

Today, TFI offers three floors of permanent exhibits that provide hands-on learning experiences that introduce and reinforce key science concepts in creative and engaging ways. The museum also hosts renowned traveling exhibits that draw local, national and international visitors to the museum, such as King Tut, the most visited museum exhibit in the world in 2007; and Body Worlds in 2010.

As an American Association of Museums-accredited organization, the museum holds curatorial collections, particularly those related to Franklin and the Wright Brothers, that are considered national treasures.

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January 1, 1934 was a Monday. This was also the date that Columbia University beat Stanford University in a big upset in the Rose Bowl. I have a separate entry for that event.

It would take until the next year for the Orange Bowl and the Sugar Bowl to be first played, and 2 more years for the Cotton Bowl. The NFL season had ended on December 17, with the Chicago Bears beating the New York Giants in the Championship Game. Baseball was in the off-season. And the NBA wouldn't be founded until 1946. There was 1 NHL game played that day: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

And it was the date on which Alan Berg, the Denver radio show host who was the subject of Eric Bogosian's play and movie Talk Radio, murdered in 1984 for his political views, was born in Chicago.