On this episode of Our American Stories, Ben Franklin holds the distinction of many "firsts" in American history. He invented the lightning rod, the Franklin stove, bifocals, the urinary catheter, swim fins, and the odometer. He also founded America's first public library, the first volunteer fire company, fire insurance company, and hospital, and became the nation's first Postmaster General. As Chess.com notes, Franklin was also America's first known chess player and the first American to write about the game. Elliott Drago, a historian and the Editorial Officer at the Jack Miller Center, shares the story. 

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