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Franklin did indeed speculate that strange weather and atmospheric coloring might be due to Icelandic volcanism. What this article does not mention is the fact that there were serious effects on food supply in Europe, and that this may have been enough to help spark the French Revolution. The Laki Fissure event extended along a fissure of some 25 miles. Much larger that one of the “smaller” ones described above. However, not in the same league with the Deccan or Siberian Traps. The article speaks of the Columbia River “Roza” flood basalt event as being 14.7 million years ago. I, too, wondered if there had been a major extinction connected with that. I found this excellent chart of Geologic Ages, but that time falls smack in the middle of the Miocene. On the other hand the Chesapeake Meteor which left a 60 mile crater extending north from Norfolk to the middle of the Delmarva Peninsula is about 34 Ma, which seems to pretty well separate the Oligocene from the Miocene. This was no doubt helped by another 60 mile crater forming meteor in Russia and a 9 mile wide crater formed off of Toms River, NJ, both with roughly that age.

http://home.comcast.net/~cvn1813/geology/timeline/images/ICS.gif

After more than 15 years of debating whether the Yucatan Asteroid and Deccan Traps are related, this 2015 article indicates that specific scientific correlation seems to have been found.

http://earthsky.org/earth/dinosaur-killing-asteroid-caused-indias-deccan-traps

Regarding Benjamin Franklin, I found this interesting essay: “Benjamin Franklin and Slavery: A Man Ahead of His Times” by Frank Cronin. This is a fascinating presentation of Ben Franklin’s life, the kind of advanced and liberal thinkers he associated with, his printing of controversial anti-slavery material at his shop, and near the end of his life active participation in Abolitionist efforts in the US. The views and conflicts of the times are well covered, and the complex web of labor force presented.

http://www.austincc.edu/history/cronin.html