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Young Life I was always a very curious boy and asked a lot of questions. In fact, I asked so many questions that my teachers were frustrated with me and sent home unfavorable reports about me. If I were in school now, I probably would have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. I believe, however, that my inability to hear properly was a big part of the problem. When I was seven years old, I only lasted 12 weeks in school. After that I was home-schooled by my mother. I learned more from my mother, because she was aware of my hearing problems, and she encouraged my curiosity by introducing me to more subjects than I would have learned about in school. My father encouraged my education by paying me ten cents for every book I read. My curiosity and love of reading led me to experiment with chemicals. I decided that I wanted to be an inventor. Being hard of hearing would not hold me back from being an inventor, because inventors work alone or close to people when working on experiments. I could hear if people were close to me.
First Experiments For about five years I worked all over the country as a telegraph operator at various stations to earn money to conduct experiments to try to improve the telegraph. This was a job I could do even though I was hard of hearing. I used a skill used by many who are hard of hearing called "filling the gaps," or guessing. Eventually, I improved the telegraph by developing a repeating device that copied telegraph signals to a remote site without the need for another telegrapher. In 1868, I got a job at the Western Union, a telegraph company, in Boston, and there I met other telegrapher-inventors. I resigned from this position and moved to New York City, but it took a few weeks for me to find a job in this larger unfamiliar city. In 1869, I received my first patent for a vote-recording machine. I went into business with Franklin Pope. We radically improved stock tickers, which are machines used to show the value of stocks traded in the stock market. In 1870, I received my first payment ($40,000) for an invention that improved stock tickers. With this money, I established a manufacturing shop and a small laboratory in Newark, New Jersey. In 1871, I married a woman named Mary Stillwell. Together we had three children – two boys and a girl. I spent very little time with my family because I was always working on experiments. Between 1872 and 1876, I invented automatic telegraph systems which In 1876, I moved my laboratory to Menlo Park, New Jersey. Menlo Park was a tiny town about 25 miles from New York City and had a research lab, six houses, and a boarding house. My family, my assistants, and their families lived in Menlo Park and we worked nonstop in the research lab on various projects. Phonograph In 1877, I invented the first phonograph, which mechanically played sounds recorded on a cylinder covered with tin foil. A phonograph was like a record player and was used to play messages and music. I put improvements of the phonograph aside to work on another project, which resulted in the inventions for which I am most famous – the incandescent electric light bulb and commercial electricity. This project was very complicated and included many patents. Lamps to contain lights, lamp holders, meters to measure the electricity used, switches, wiring, a central power plant, and many other parts had to be developed. Light Bulb The incandescent electric light bulb works when electricity passes through a filament (wire) to make the filament glow. It took months of research to find a filament material that would produce the best light. Finally, in October 1879, my associates and I produced a successful light bulb using a carbon filament made from burned sewing thread. Eventually, other materials, such as bamboo, were used for filaments because they increased the length of time a light bulb would burn. The light bulb was of no use to the public without electricity in buildings. In 1882, I installed the first large central power station, which converted mechanical energy generated from the burning of fuel to electric energy. This provided electricity to buildings and made it much easier for people to light them. Prior to this time, people used candles and kerosene lamps to light their homes and businesses.
In 1887, I moved my center of experimentation to a laboratory at West Orange, New Jersey. From 1887-1890, I made major improvements on the cylinder phonograph, obtaining over 80 related patents. By 1889, many of my companies merged to form Edison General Electric. Eventually Edison General Electric merged with another company to become the General Electric Company, which still exists today. The General Electric Company makes light bulbs, appliances, electric motors, and other products today. Other Projects In 1891, with my assistant, William Dickson, I developed the kinetoscope, the first machine to produce motion pictures. A series of images were put on film and moved quickly through a shining light. This made it appear as if the pictures were in motion. This invention made it possible for people to see moving pictures of things they previously could only read about or see in photographs. From 1891 to 1900, I got involved with a different type of project. I went to northwestern New Jersey and began digging for valuable metals. My inventions during this period included a rock-crushing machine, a magnetic separator, and better conveyer belts. This project ended up failing. I lost several million dollars. Also, during this period I invented the fluoroscope – an early X-ray machine. Around 1900, I began working on experiments with batteries. I became a friend
with another great inventor – Henry Ford. He was working on the I developed a phonograph device for reproducing sound that had been recorded as a spiral groove on a disk instead of a cylinder. This phonograph had a diamond needle and other improved features, which made it easier for people to listen to music or other recordings at their own convenience. By combining this phonograph and the kinetoscope, I produced, in 1913, the first talking moving pictures. This was the beginning of the motion picture industry and seeing movies became a great form of entertainment for people.
In my later years, I also became interested in improving how cement was made. I built better machinery and a better kiln for making cement and constructed some of my own factory buildings from poured cement. I became friends with other famous inventors and businessmen such as Henry Ford, John Burroughs, and Harvey Firestone. We went on several automobile trips together to places such as the Smoky Mountains, Florida, and California. I retired when I was in my eighties and died on October 18, 1931 at the age of 84 in West Orange, New Jersey. Over the course of my lifetime I had patented more than 1,000 inventions. During the 1930’s, my friend Henry Ford, moved the Menlo Park laboratory to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Also at Greenfield Village are replicas of the Pearl Street power station and the train station in Michigan where I worked when I was a boy. My work greatly affected other people, because if I was never born, people might not have electricity in their homes, movies, record players, my greatest invention – the light bulb, and many other modern inventions. People still remember me for my many great inventions and because corporations are named after me, such as the Detroit Edison Company which provides electric power to consumers and businesses located in and near Detroit, Michigan. Many historians feel that I was the greatest inventor of all time. Thomas Edison Timeline
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My name is Thomas Alva Edison. Most people remember me for
inventing the
light bulb, however, during my life I invented much more. I was born on February
11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. My parents were Nancy and Samuel Edison. When I was
seven years old, I moved to Port Huron, Michigan with my family. I was hard of
hearing because of my many ear infections when I was young.
When I was 12 years old, I got a job selling candy and newspapers on a train
that ran a daily round trip from Port Huron to Detroit. The owner of the train
let me have a chemistry lab on one of the rail cars. While I was at the train
stations, I learned telegraph codes and got a job as a telegraph operator when I
was 15 years old. A telegraph is an instrument used to send messages by means of
wires and electricity. The telegraph operator sends signals to another operator
by interrupting the flow of electricity along a wire. The telegraph operator on
the receiving end translates the signals in words that form a message. Short and
longer signals mean different letters and this system is known as the Morse
code, named after Samuel Morse who invented the first practical telegraph.
saved
Western Union many millions of dollars by reducing the amount of wire required
to make telegraph connections. I also invented the electric pen, which was an
early version of the present day copy machine, and many other useful inventions.
My family started spending more time in New York City. In the summer of 1884,
my wife, Mary, passed away at Menlo Park. After that I wanted nothing to do with
Menlo Park. It was hard to get as excited about work. In 1886, I married again
to a woman named Mina Miller. Together we had three children – two boys and a
girl. I ended up spending more time with these children.
automobile. I
wanted to invent an electric battery that would be used by automobiles. As it
turned out, Henry’s idea of automobiles running on gasoline was better. But in
1910, I did invent the Edison battery that used an alkaline electrolyte. This
battery was used for miner’s lamps, train lights, railroad signaling, and many
other uses. Alkaline batteries are still used today for things that require a
lot of current, such as portable TV’s and electric shavers, because they last
from five to eight times longer than standard (carbon-zinc) batteries.
During World I, I helped with the war effort by designing, building, and
operating plants for the manufacture of chemicals needed for the war, such as
carbolic acid that was used for making explosives. In 1915, I was appointed
president of the U.S. Navy Consulting Board.