ADDENDA.
The Lightning Kite.
Fully described by Franklin in a letter to Peter Collinson, of London, dated October 19th, 1752.
Stuber in his "Continuation of the Life of Dr. Franklin," and Priestley in his "History of Electricity," affirm that Franklin made the experiment in June, 1752.
Franklin's son, William, never denied the story, although he figured in it as an active character.
William Temple Franklin, who prepared for publication his grandfather's works, gives the kite story almost verbatim from Stuber.
Finally, Franklin himself states that he made the experiment: Memoirs, Vol. I., p. 164.
Franklin and de Romas.
June, 1752: Franklin raises his kite in a field near Philadelphia.
July 12, 1752: Letter of de Romas to the Academy of Bordeaux, in which a probable reference is made to the kite as un jeu d'enfant.