occupation peter collinson 
Peter Collinson ( January 1694 -- 11 August 1768 ) was a Fellow of the Royal Society , an avid gardener , and the middleman for an international exchange of scientific ideas in mid - 18th century London . He is best known for his horticultural friendship with John Bartram and his correspondence with Benjamin Franklin about electricity . The Ivy League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising sports teams from eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States . The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group beyond the sports context . The eight institutions are Brown University , Columbia University , Cornell University , Dartmouth College , Harvard University , the University of Pennsylvania , Princeton University , and Yale University . The term " Ivy League " has connotations of ___MASK41___ excellence , selectivity in admissions , and social elitism . Fellowship of the Royal Society ( FRS , ForMemRS & HonFRS ) is an award and fellowship granted by the Royal Society of London to individuals the society judges to have made a " substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge , including mathematics , ___MASK91___ science and medical science ". Electromagnetism is a branch of ___MASK92___ involving the study of the electromagnetic force , a type of physical interaction that occurs between electrically charged particles . The electromagnetic force usually exhibits electromagnetic fields such as electric fields , magnetic fields , and light and is one of the four fundamental interactions ( commonly called forces ) in nature . The other three fundamental interactions are the strong interaction , the weak interaction , and gravitation . Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 , 1790 ) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States . Franklin was a renowned ___MASK97___ and a leading author , ___MASK81___ , political theorist , ___MASK44___ , freemason , postmaster , scientist , inventor , civic activist , statesman , and diplomat . As a scientist , he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity . As an inventor , he is known for the lightning rod , bifocals , and the Franklin stove , among other inventions . He facilitated many civic organizations , including Philadelphia ' s fire department and The University of Pennsylvania , an Ivy League institution . A ___MASK97___ ("", " having learned much ") is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas ; such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems . John Bartram ( March 23 , 1699  September 22 , 1777 ) was an early American ___MASK33___ , horticulturist and explorer . Carl Linnaeus said he was the " greatest natural ___MASK33___ in the world ." A lightning rod ( US , AUS ) or lightning ___MASK88___ ( UK ) is a metal rod or metallic object mounted on top of an elevated structure , such as a building , a ship , or even a tree , electrically bonded using a wire or electrical ___MASK88___ to interface with ground or " earth " through an electrode , engineered to protect the structure in the event of lightning strike . If lightning hits the structure , it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through the wire , instead of passing through the structure , where it could start a fire or cause electrocution . Lightning rods are also called finials , air terminals or strike termination devices . The American Enlightenment is a period of ___MASK15___ ferment in the thirteen American colonies in the period 1714  1818 , which led to the American Revolution , and the creation of the American Republic . Influenced by the 18th - century European Enlightenment and its own native American philosophy , the American Enlightenment applied scientific reasoning to politics , ___MASK2___ , and ___MASK11___ , promoted ___MASK66___ tolerance , and restored literature , the arts , and music as important disciplines and professions worthy of study in colleges . The " new - ___MASK74___ " American style colleges of King ' s College New York ( now Columbia University ), and the College of Philadelphia ( now Penn ) were founded , Yale College and the College of William & Mary were reformed , and a non - denominational moral philosophy replaced theology in many college curricula ; even Puritan colleges such as the College of New Jersey ( now Princeton University ) and Harvard University reformed their curricula to include natural philosophy ( ___MASK2___ ), modern astronomy , and mathematics . Electric charge is the physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field . There are two types of electric charges : positive and negative . Like charges repel and unlike attract . An object is negatively charged if it has an excess of electrons , and is otherwise positively charged or uncharged . The SI derived unit of electric charge is the coulomb ( C ). In electrical ___MASK91___ , it is also common to use the ampere - hour ( Ah ), and , in chemistry , it is common to use the elementary charge (" e ") as a unit . The symbol " Q " often denotes charge . Early knowledge of how charged substances interact is now called classical electrodynamics , and is still accurate for problems that don ' t require consideration of quantum effects . Carl Linnaeus ( 23 May 1707  10 January 1778 ), also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné , was a Swedish ___MASK33___ , physician , and zoologist , who formalised the modern system of naming organisms called binomial nomenclature . He is known by the epithet " father of modern taxonomy ". Many of his writings were in Latin , and his name is rendered in Latin as ( after 1761 Carolus a Linné ). ___MASK92___ ( from the Ancient Greek  " physis " meaning " nature ") is the fundamental branch of science that developed out of the study of nature and philosophy known , until around the end of the 19th century , as " natural philosophy ". Today , ___MASK92___ is ultimately defined as the study of matter , energy and the relationships between them . ___MASK92___ is , in some senses , the oldest and most basic pure science ; its discoveries find applications throughout the natural sciences , since matter and energy are the basic constituents of the natural world . The other sciences are generally more limited in their scope and may be considered branches that have split off from ___MASK92___ to become sciences in their own right . ___MASK92___ today may be divided loosely into classical ___MASK92___ and modern ___MASK92___ . Electricity is a physical phenomenon associated with the presence of electric charge . Although initially considered a phenomenon separate to magnetism , since the development of Maxwell ' s Equations both are recognized as part of a single phenomenon : electromagnetism . Various common phenomena are related to electricity , including lightning , static electricity , electric heating , electric discharges and many others . In addition , electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies . The Founding Fathers of the United States are the individuals of the Thirteen British Colonies in North America who led the American Revolution against the authority of the British Crown and established the ___MASK59___ . The term is also used more narrowly , referring specifically to those who either signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or who were delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention and took part in drafting the proposed Constitution of the United States . A further subset includes those who signed the Continental Association or the Articles of Confederation . During much of the 19th century , they were referred to as either the " Founders " or the " Fathers ". The ___MASK20___ , Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge , commonly known as the Royal Society , is a learned society for science and is possibly the oldest such society still in existence . Founded in November 1660 , it was granted a royal charter by ___MASK16___ Charles II as " The Royal Society ". The Society is the ___MASK10___ ' s and Commonwealth of Nations ' Academy of Sciences and fulfills a number of roles ; promoting science and its benefits , recognising excellence in science , supporting outstanding science , providing scientific advice for policy , fostering international and global cooperation , education and public engagement . The society is governed by its Council , which is chaired by the Society ' s ___MASK20___ , according to a set of statutes and standing orders . The members of Council and the ___MASK20___ are elected from and by its Fellows , the basic members of the society , who are themselves elected by existing Fellows . As of 2016 , there are about 1 , 600 fellows , allowed to use the postnominal title FRS ( Fellow of the Royal Society ), with up to 52 new fellows appointed each year . There are also royal fellows , honorary fellows and foreign members , the last of which are allowed to use the postnominal title ForMemRS ( Foreign Member of the Royal Society ). The Royal Society ___MASK20___ is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan , who took up the post on November 30 , 2015 . A fellow is a ___MASK50___ of a group of people who work together in a fellowship pursuing mutual knowledge or practice . There are many different kinds of fellowships which are awarded for different reasons in academia and industry , often indicating an advanced level of scholarship . London is the capital and most populous city of England and the ___MASK10___ , as well as the most populous city proper in the European Union . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , London has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". London ' s ancient core , the City of London , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " London " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , Surrey , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater London , governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly .