10 Facts About Ebenezer Kinnersley

Ebenezer Kinnersley was an English scientist, inventor and lecturer, specializing in the investigation of electricity.

Ebenezer Kinnersley was a son of Rev William Kinnersley, an assistant pastor of the Lower Dublin Baptist church.

Ebenezer Kinnersley travelled to America with his parents in 1714.

Ebenezer Kinnersley devoted all his time to the subject, and in a couple of years the discoveries that were made were such as to astound the learned of Europe, to whom they were communicated by Franklin in his letters to the well-known Peter Collinson, of London, by whom they were published.

In 1748, Ebenezer Kinnersley demonstrated that the electric fluid actually passed through water, and proved it by a trough ten feet long full of water.

Ebenezer Kinnersley invented the "magical picture" referred to by the Abbe Nollet, and produced the ringing of chimes of bells.

Until then the theory of Du Fay as to the vitreous and resinous electricity was generally adopted, but now Ebenezer Kinnersley showed beyond a doubt that the positive and negative theory was correct.

Ebenezer Kinnersley then visited New York and lectured on the subject.

In 1753, Ebenezer Kinnersley was elected chief master in the College of Philadelphia, and in 1755 he was appointed professor of English and oratory, holding the office until 1772, when, owing to failing health, he resigned.

Ebenezer Kinnersley continued his experiments, invented an electrical thermometer, and proved that heat could be produced by electricity, which was not known before.