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Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was born in 1847 at Milan Ohio. Both his parents were Canadian citizens. They were Samuel Edison, Nancy Elliot. He was part of a family of nine. He had four sisters and two brothers. When Edison was twelve he held a job selling candy and newspapers to passengers of the rail cars. Edison once set a rail car on fire when he was experimenting with chemicals. But he was redeemed when the station master's child wandered onto the tracks in front of a oncoming train. Thomas ran to the child and pushed him out of the way. As a reward the stationmaster taught Edison morse code.

This led to Edison discovering the "Etheric force" which made wireless telegraphy possible.

When Thomas Edison was only 21 he executed a patent for his electric voice recording machine. This was the first of the 1,093 patents successfully executed under Edison's name. In 1870 Edison sold his first invention, the stock ticker to the "Gold and Stock Telegraphy Company" for 40,000. In 1871 Edison helped the inventor of the typewriter make a working model for commerical use. In1871 Edison married his first wife Mary Stillwell. They were married for 13 years and had three children. They had a good life together until Mary died in 1884 leaving Edison with three young children.

One of Edison's most imporant inventions was the incandescent lamp. This event in his life shows how he was a entrepreneur. He had to convice two top financiers that the electric light bulb was the way of the future. He borrowed money from J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts for the funding of the incandescent lamp project. Edison and Associates worked on over three thousand theories while trying to design the incandescent lamp during the time span of 1878 to1880. The first design that worked lasted over forty hours

In 1884 Edison made a trip to Florida to try and improve his health. He met up with a childhood friend who was Ezra Gilliand. They planed to build adjoining houses. They built two dentical homes at Semihole lodge. The houses were finished in 1886. Ezra Gilliand introduced Edison to his second wife. She was then the 20 year old Mina Miller. They soon fell in love and Edison asked her to marry him in morse code. The were married in 1886. The couple did not spend each year in Fort Myers until 1901 when Edison's health during the winter weather worsened. The couple had three children. It was here were Edison made the first industrial reseach lab.

In 1877 Edison applied for the carbon-button telephone transmitter, which made Alexander Graham Bell's telephone able to be used for widespread public use. In 1878 Edison received a patent for the phonograph. The phonograph is used to play sound or song recordings.

The incandescent lamp was a very important invention because it created a need for power to be brought right to the home. Edison started to work on a power station. In 1883 Edison completed the first three wire central power station in Sunbury, PA. The invention of the phonograph was linked to the invention and succes of the motion picture camera. Without the phonograph the motion picture camera would be without sound for many years. The first picture was of a person sneezing. In 1896 Edison developed the fluroscope while experimenting with x-rays. He did not patent this because of the possible potential in medicine.

In 1913 Edison demonstrated the kinetophone for talking motion pictures. As you can see the phonograph and the motion picture camera were the stepping stones for the kinetophone.

In 1931 Thomas Edison died. Two years later the last patent under Thomas Edison was granted for the Holder for Article to be electroplated. His Second wife died in1947.

There is many honors Edison achieved including Medals of Excellence, from the American Institute and The Diploma of Honor from the General Congress in Paris.

Mr. Edison was a very important person in the twentieth century. Recently in a t.v special Thomas Edison was put in the top ten most influential people of the 20th century.

Today Edison laboratory and home in West Orange, N.J. was designated as a National Historic site. The site was opened in 1962. Over 320 thousand people tour the estate

each year. Edison was a very imporant person that affected the way millions of people live their lives. Thomas Edison most imporant inventions were the phonograph, the incandescent lamp and the Kinetophone. Most of Thomas Edison's inventions became high mass consumption items.

Many of today's modern products were designed on the basic design of Edison's inventions. A CD player and the radio would not have been made without the first machines that Edison designed. Have you ever gone to a movie. Turned on a light as you walked into a room? All of these things would not have been possible without the vision of Thomas Edison of the better things that would make life easier for all people.

For more info about Thomas Edison try these links.

 Thomas Edison Inventions  http://www.expage.com/page/edison

 Thomas Edison's Patents http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents.htm

 Thomas Edison's Inventions. http://www.norfacad.pvt.k12.va.us/project/edison/inventions.htm

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