On 10 May 1752, as a thunderstorm passed over the village of Marly‐la‐Ville, a retired French dragoon, acting on instructions from naturalist Thomas‐Franc¸ois Dalibard, drew sparks from a tall iron rod that had been carefully insulated from ground (see figure 1). The sparks showed that thunderclouds are electrified and that lightning is an electrical discharge. In the mid‐18th century, such an observation was sensational and was soon verified by Delor, Dalibard's collaborator in Paris. Within weeks of hearing the news, many others throughout Europe had successfully repeated the experiment.