As the hurricane season is coming upon us, we recall images of the Weather Channel plotting the course of the Gulf Stream and the impacts that current will have on storms bearing down on the US mainland.
Even though he was taking time to plot the course of our great country, he had many interests.
The Gulf Stream, the ocean current which brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean and heads north, was first observed by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513. Benjamin Franklin was the first to chart out the path of the Gulf Stream and capture it on a map in 1768.
Franklin while serving in London as the deputy postmaster general for the American Colonies, noticed a difference in sailing times between westbound and eastbound ships. Ever curious, Franklin consulted with his cousin a Nantucket whaler who had a deep knowledge of these currents. Together these two charted the ocean currents, published a map in 1768 and this map was circulated to mail ships to aid transit.
The following article published by http://www.historyfacts.com shares that event as well as other Benjamin Franklin discoveries which impacted the ways of the world.
The article is captured at:
