On this day in 1752, Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin demonstrated electricity when he flew a kite during a thunderstorm and collected a charge in a Leyden jar, an early capacitor for containing static electricity.

Della Blue Faries, of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, made this Kite Quilt, or Pontiac Star Variation, in 1918. The quilt was documented by Faries’ daughter, who received the quilt as a gift from her mother, during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project.

 View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/franklin-flies-kite-during-thunderstorm

Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org