January 17, 1706: Benjamin Franklin is born. Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston, USA. He flew a kite in a storm to show that lightning is electricity, and he invented the lightning rod to protect buildings and bifocal glasses for seeing both near and far.
1773 🧭 Captain James Cook's expedition became the first known to sail south of the Antarctic Circle, into the icy waters around Antarctica.
1904 🎨 Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre, and it is still staged all over the world today.
1912 🧭 British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached the South Pole, only to find that Roald Amundsen had got there a month before them. Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station →
🧠 Question of the day
What did Franklin fly in a storm?
A hot-air balloon
A kite
An airplane
Show the answer
Answer: A kite
Questions
What happened on January 17?
January 17, 1706: Benjamin Franklin is born. It happened in Boston, USA.
In the game, the "Today on Earth" panel shows this story on its day, with a question to answer and a place to fly to.