George Richmann. Engraving of the accidental death by electrocution of George William Richmann (1711- 53), German-Russian physicist, in St. Petersburg, Russia. His assistant, Lomonosov, survived. They were attempting to perform B. Franklin's lightning experiment by setting up an insulated rod (centre- right) above and within his house. Richmann measured storm effects until a lightning strike on the rod killed him whilst he was reading a nearby scale. Richmann's other interest was thermometry. He had studied heating, cooling and evaporation. He confirmed Newton's law of cooling and also showed that the rate of heat change is not related to density, elasticity or hardness.