The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution

The surprising story of Benjamin Franklin’s most famous invention—and a new take on the Founding Father we thought we knew.

Join the American Philosophical Society and The Library Company of Philadelphia on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, to hear from Joyce E. Chaplin (APS 2020) on Benjamin Franklin's scientific innovation and consumer invention, the Franklin stove.

The biggest revolution in Benjamin Franklin’s lifetime was made to fit in a fireplace. Assembled from iron plates like a piece of flatpack furniture, the Franklin stove became one of the era’s most iconic consumer products, spreading from Pennsylvania to England, Italy, and beyond. It was more than just a material object, however—it was also a hypothesis.