Thomas Edison Essay

Skyler Human Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison. January 3, 2014. <http://www.nndb.com/people/333/000022267/>

Thomas Alva Edison is one of the most famous American scientists in history. Edison is most known for his inventions like, the phonograph, the motion picture camera and the light bulb! Thomas Edison was born February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He was the last of seven children of his parents, Samual and Nancy Edison. When Edison was a kid, he only had three years of school education before one of his teachers called him an “addling.” Then his mother refused to bring him back to school so she taught him at home. Edison also taught himself by reading many books. He was also believed to suffer from dyslexia and developed hearing problems at a young age. In 1854, his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan where he got jobs as a train boy, selling newspapers and candy at Grand Trunk Railroad. Later, he worked as a telegraph operator. Soon Edison went off to Newark, New Jersey in 1870 to begin his life. On Christmas Day of 1871 Edison married Mary Stilwell and they had three children together, Marion, Thomas and William Edison. In 1884 Mary dies of unknown causes and two years later Edison remarries Mina Miller. Together they have three children, Madeline, Charles and Theodore Edison. Soon Thomas Edison makes a great step to his great accomplishments. Thomas Edison has accomplished many things in his life. He has invented many things. One of Edison’s first inventions was the phonograph, made in 1877. It was the first phonograph recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinder. People where so amazed by his discovery they began to call him, “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” in New Jersey. Even though, it had a limited sound quality and the records could only be played a few times, it was the beginning of many more great inventions. In 1879, Edison’s greatest discovery was made. He had invented the first light bulb! Well he technically did not invent the first electric light bulb, but he invented the first commercially practical incandescent light. It took him about 10,000 attempts to make a working light bulb. He continued to improve his light bulb and inspired other scientist to help make their own lights. This invention introduced electricity that spread around the world. The light bulb also introduced other electric systems like sockets and switches. In 1791, Edison invented the motion picture camera. It’s not like our cameras today, but it was the first one to actually show motion pictures. This invention was also the start of better more improved cameras like ours today. Edison also invented the alkaline storage battery

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