rank before even the great philanthropists whose careers are
outlined elsewhere in this volume. Indeed, if we judge greatness by the
benefits which a man confers upon mankind, such men as Whitney and Howe
and Morse and Bell and Edison far surpass most of the great characters
of history.

First of the line is Benjamin Franklin, whose many-sided genius gives
him a unique place in American history. His career has been considered
in the chapter dealing with our statesmen, but let us pause for a moment
here to speak of his inventions. One of them, the Franklin stove, is
still in use in hundreds of old houses, and as an economizer of fuel has
never been surpassed; another was the lightning-rod. He introduced the
basket willow, the water-tight compartment for ships, the culture of
silk, the use of white clothing in hot weather, and the use of oil to
quiet a tempest-tossed sea. From none of his inventions did he seek to
get any return. The Governor of Pennsylvania offered to give him a
monopoly of the sale of the Franklin stove for a period of years, but he
declined it, saying, "That, as we enjoy great advantages from the
inventions of others, we should be glad to serve others by any invention
of ours"--a principle characteristic of Franklin's whole philosophy of
life.

After Franklin, came Robert Fulton, the first man successfully to apply
the power of the steam-engine to the propulsion of boats. Everyone has
heard the story of how, years before, the youthful James Watt first got
his idea of the power of steam by noticing how it rattled the lid on his
mother's boiling teakettle. From that came the stationary engine, and
from that the engine as applied to the locomotive. It remained for
Fulton to apply it to water navigation.

Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, of Irish parents, in poor
circumstances, the boy received only the rudiments of an education, but
developed a surprising talent for painting, so that, when he was
seventeen, he removed to Philadelphia and set up there as an artist,
painting portraits and landscapes. He remained there for some years, and
finally, having made enough money to purchase a small farm for his
mother, sailed for London, where he introduced himself to that amiable
patron of all American painters, Benjamin West. West, who was at that
time at the height of his fame, received Fulton with great kindness, and
made a place in his house for him, where he remained for several years.

Those years