Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia’s Favorite Son, was a Membrane Biophysicist

Benjamin Franklin, mostly known for his participation in writing The Declaration of Independence and work on electricity, was also one of the first scientists to seek to understand the properties of oil monolayers on water surfaces. During one of his many voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, Franklin observed that oil had a calming effect on waves when poured into rough ocean waters. Though at first taking a backseat to many of his other scientific and political endeavors, Franklin went on to experiment with oil, spreading monomolecular films on various bodies of water, and ultimately devised a concept of particle repulsion that is indirectly related to the hydrophobic effect. His early observations inspired others to measure the dimensions of oil monolayers, which eventually led to the formulation of the contemporary lipid bilayer model of the cell membrane.