Thomas
Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, he only attened 3 months of
public school, he was kicked out and went on to attend home
schooling with his mother.
He eventually
would move to michigan and sell products on trains. He moved
down to kentucky and took night shifts until he spilled battery
fluid on his bosses desk. He was fired the next day. He lived
in a friends apartment until he could find another place to
live. He met his wife Mary Stilwell in 1861 and went on to have
3 children with her, she died in 1884. Edison later married
Mina Miller who would outlive him, she died in 1947. He went
on to raise his children and create innovative inventions in
the early 1900's.
He died
in his home "Glenmont" in New Jersey which he had
purchased as a wedding gift for his wife Mina.
Edison
has a powerful legacy which spans over many different inventions
and companies, involving power, telephones, light bulbs, and
much more. He is known for his innovative breakthroughs with
the phonograph and the light bulb, as well as generators for
electricity, he waged a short battle to preserve his form of
energy, Direct current, from a new more powerful and useful
form of energy, alternating current.
He contributed
to the design of the car and was a powerful contributor to motion
pictures and owned a large trust of powerful production companies.
One of his assistants was Nikola Tesla who helped Edison improve
his Direct Current system.
The key
to his inventing was his experience with telegraphs for which
he had worked with for many years. He patented hundreds of inventions,
including the motion picture camera, the two way telegraph,
his breakthrough lightbulb design, and much more.
Edison was active in business right up
until the end of his life. He had branched out into numerous
business ventures, including automobies and trains. He went
on to buy his home from his childhood and was shocked to discover
that it was still used candles for lighting.
He died in 1931 in a home he had bought as a wedding present
for his wife Mina, stating that his biggest regret was never
respecting his assistant Tesla.
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