The Little Ice Age was a period of regional cooling, particularly in Europe and North America, roughly from 1300 to 1850. The winter of 1740-1741 was exceptionally cold in North America. And as Benjamin Franklin looked around his house and neighborhood in Philadelphia, he saw a problem in need of fixing: energy going to waste as people consumed wood to keep their homes warm.
In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Joyce Chaplin, a historian of early America and the environment, joins us to discuss how Benjamin Franklin’s stoves help us understand climate change during the Little Ice Age and today.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Ben Franklin’s World is an award-winning podcast. It’s for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our world. Each episode features an interview with a historian who shares their unique insights into our early American past.
Illustration: The first (of five) Franklin stove designs, 1744 (Mercer Museum Library of the Bucks County Historical Society).
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