In April 1749, Benjamin Franklin first sketched his experiments for demonstrating the "sameness of electrical matter" (heretofore generated using rubbed glass rods) "with that of lightning." By summer of 1752, the successful execution in France of the high tower, iron rod, sentry box experiment proposed by Franklin made him an international celebrity, while in Philadelphia the delayed completion of the Christ Church steeple led an impatient Franklin to devise and execute his "whimsical" and famous electrical kite experiment. Forsaking patents for the common good, Franklin's approach to technology transfer was to broadly publish his theories and experimental results, with lightning rods first installed on buildings in Philadelphia in the summer of 1752 and then disseminating throughout Europe and the then United States, quickly thereafter. Along the way, Franklin devised the one-fluid theory of electrical flow, designating that flow as positive and thereby condemning subsequent generations of freshman physics students to confusion about the direction of current flow, but also introducing such seminal concepts as conservation of charge and electrical action at a distance. From these rich ideas, each grounded in meticulously devised and executed demonstration experiments, flowed forth 250 years of subsequent theory, experimentation and understanding of electricity and discharge physics. Today, many of the indispensable conveniences of modern life, such as micro-discharges within our plasma televisions; discharges driving our domestic fluorescent lighting; reactive chemistry discharges used to manufacture our laptops, ipods and cell phones; and mega-amp tokamak discharges striving to provide us with fusion power; all derive their roots from that curious fellow with a kite from Philadelphia.