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Thomas Edison was a brilliant inventor and astute businessman who held a record of 1,093 patents (either alone or jointly) and was the driving force behind discoveries such as the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, the alkaline battery, and one of the first motion picture cameras. He also established the first industrial research laboratory in the world.
See the fact file below for more information on Thomas Edison, or you can download our 25-page Thomas Edison worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
EARLY LIFE
- Edison, known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park” for the New Jersey town where he accomplished some of his most renowned work, had become one of the world’s most recognized persons by the time he was in his 30s.
- Aside from his ability to develop, Edison was a successful manufacturer who was good at marketing his inventions—and himself—to the public.
- On February 11, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. He was the seventh and final child born to Nancy Elliott Edison and Samuel Edison Jr., and one of only four to live to maturity.
- He was supposedly deaf in one ear and practically deaf in the other when he was 12 years old. His hearing loss has variously been linked to scarlet fever, mastoiditis, or a blow to the head.
- After leaving school in 1859 to start working on the railroad between Detroit and Port Huron, Michigan, where his family resided, Thomas Edison, who had minimal formal education, began inventing.
- He made a weekly profit of approximately $50 by selling food and newspapers to train passengers, which was a sizable sum at the time—especially for a 13-year-old.
- Thomas Edison had a record 1,093 patents by the time he passed away on October 18, 1931, at the age of 84. It included 389 for electric light and power, 195 for the phonograph, 150 for the telegraph, 141 for storage batteries, and 34 for the telephone.
- Edison gained knowledge of the fledgling field of telegraphy during the Civil War and traversed the nation as a telegrapher.
- However, he quickly found himself at a disadvantage as a telegrapher with the advent of aural signals for the telegraph.
- To solve this issue, Edison started working on creating tools that would assist him in achieving his goals despite his deafness (including a printer that would convert electrical telegraph signals to letters).
- He gave up telegraphy in early 1869 to focus solely on innovation.
EDISON AND MENLO PARK
- Edison created telegraph-related items in Newark, New Jersey, between 1870 and 1875 for the Western Union Telegraph Company (at the time, the market leader) and its rivals.
- In the same year that his mother passed away in 1871, Edison married Mary Stillwell, then 16 years old.
- Edison struggled financially at the end of 1875 despite his prolific telegraph work. Still, a year later, with his father’s assistance, he was able to construct a laboratory and machine shop in Menlo Park, New Jersey, 12 miles south of Newark.
- Some historians attribute Edison’s invention of the research and development (R&D) lab to the success of his Menlo Park “invention factory.”
- AT&T later imitated this collaborative, team-based model at Bell Labs, the DuPont Experimental Station, the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and other R&D centers.
- Edison created the carbon transmitter in 1877, which allowed broadcasting sounds more clearly and louder, enhancing the telephone’s audibility.
- The phonograph, which recorded sound as indentations on a sheet of paraffin-coated paper and recreated the sounds when the paper was moved beneath a stylus, was created by him the same year as the telegraph and telephone.
- Although it took years before it could be built and marketed commercially, the gadget made an immediate sensation.
EDISON AND THE LIGHT BULB
- Edison concentrated his efforts in 1878 on creating a cheap, safe alternative to gaslights, a problem that had bedeviled scientists for the previous 50 years.
- The Vanderbilt family and J.P. Morgan provided significant financial support for Edison when he established the Edison Electric Light Company and started his research and development efforts.
- In October 1879, he had a breakthrough with a bulb that employed a platinum filament. In the summer of 1880, he discovered carbonized bamboo as a workable filament substitute, which was the secret to a durable and economical light bulb.
- He founded an electric light firm in Newark in 1881 before relocating his family, which had grown to three children, to New York the following year.
- The Paris Lighting Exhibition in 1881 and the Crystal Palace in London in 1882 utilized Edison’s early incandescent lighting systems, despite the latter’s issues.
- Soon rivals started to arise, most notably George Westinghouse, who supported alternating current (AC) instead of Edison’s direct current (DC).
- The Edison General Electric Co. amalgamated with another business in 1892 to create General Electric, and by 1889, AC would take over the industry.
LATER YEARS AND INVENTIONS
- After his first wife, Mary, died in August 1884, Edison wedded Mirna Miller in February 1886. The two of them would go on to have three children together.
- In West Orange, New Jersey, he constructed the enormous Glenmont house and a research facility complete with a machine shop, library, metallurgy, chemistry, and carpentry structures.
- He started developing a commercial form of the phonograph after being inspired by others’ efforts to improve the device. He also thought of connecting the phonograph to a zoetrope, a machine that connected a sequence of photos to give the impression that they were moving.
- Together with William K.L. Dickson, Edison created the Kinetograph, a functional motion picture camera, and the Kinetoscope, a viewing device he patented in 1891.
- By 1918, Edison had abandoned the use of moving film after years of bitter legal disputes with his rivals in the budding motion picture business.
- He had succeeded in creating an alkaline storage battery in the interim, which he had initially worked on as a power source for the phonograph but eventually provided for submarines and electric cars.
- Automaker Henry Ford commissioned Edison to create a battery in 1912 for the self-starter featured on the enduring Model T. The agreement marked the start of a long-lasting partnership between the two successful American people in business.
- Edison kept on creating far into his 80s, despite the comparatively modest success of his later inventions (such as his protracted attempt to design a magnetic ore-separator).
- He became a folk hero because of his ascent from a lowly, ignorant train worker to one of the most well-known people in the world.
- Everyone acknowledged him more than any other person for creating the foundation for contemporary technology and civilization in the electricity era.
- As part of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, the public may now visit his Glenmont mansion, where he passed away in 1931, and his West Orange laboratory.
Thomas Edison Worksheets
This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Thomas Edison across 25 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was a brilliant inventor and astute businessman. He was the driving force behind discoveries such as the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, the alkaline battery, and one of the first motion pictures.
Complete List of Included Worksheets
Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.
- Thomas Edison Facts
- The Wizard of Menlo Park
- The Inven-son’s
- Fact or Bluff?
- Brilliant Inventors of US
- AC vs DC
- Nobody to Hero
- Think Like Thomas
- Inspirational Quotes
- EDISON
- My Favorite Invention
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Thomas Edison?
Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman who lived from 1847 to 1931. He is most famous for inventing the practical incandescent light bulb, but he also made important contributions to the development of the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and many other inventions.
What was Edison’s most famous invention?
Edison’s most famous invention was the practical incandescent light bulb. Although he was not the first person to invent an electric light bulb, his design was the first one that could be mass-produced and used to light homes and businesses on a large scale.
How many patents did Edison hold?
Edison held over 1,000 patents for his inventions, including ones for the light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. He is one of the most prolific inventors in history.
What was Edison’s famous quote about invention?
Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” This quote has become famous as a testament to the hard work and determination required to bring an invention to fruition.
What was Edison’s legacy?
Edison’s legacy is a lasting one. His inventions transformed the world and helped to usher in a new era of technological progress. He also founded General Electric, which became one of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Edison is remembered as one of the greatest inventors of all time.
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