In 1738, in the tradition of Robert Boyle, Benjamin Franklin's Library Company of Philadelphia -- a learned society founded by Franklin partly in imitation of the Royal Society -- obtained an air pump for study of vacua. In 1747, the organization obtained an electrostatic machine. By advancing the scientific understanding of electricity, Franklin helped light the way to countless not-then-foreseen modern applications of high voltage, from cathode-ray and photomultiplier tubes to huge systems for electrical power distribution. Because Franklin subscribed to the particle theory of matter, he would no doubt be fascinated by the particle accelerator, today's linkage of vacuum technology and high voltage for elucidating matter's particle structure. This talk will trace that linkage from Franklin's time to the International Linear Collider, which is now being designed to comprise two facing linear accelerators, each 20 kilometers long, that will hurl beams of electrons and positrons toward each other at nearly the speed of light -- and at energies planned eventually to reach the teravolt scale. * This work supported by US DOE Contract No. DE-AC05-84ER40150 ________________________________________________________.