Thomas Edison was a famous American inventor and businessman. Known for his inventions, many knew him as a wizard of Menlo Park. In addition to great success, he was successful in other fields.
He had six children with two wives. He worked tirelessly on experimentation and invention, and until a few years ago he held the record in most patents for individuals. Thanks to his knowledge of the telegraph.
Edison has achieved several inventions and over 1000 patents. Some inventions also arose from his own needs, because he was partially deaf and wanted to make his job easier. His first invention made him famous and attracted wide attention of the masses, and later he just continued to fascinate with his ideas and skills.
Keep reading and find out more about his most famous inventions in the rest of the text.
Life
Thomas Edison was born in Ohio and had a brother and two sisters. They were much older than him, which is why his mother was especially fond of him. Since he could not play with his peers as a child, he spent a lot of time experimenting and researching. Already at the age of six, he had his first little experiment that went wrong. That is why he was known as a troubled child.
However, the financial situation in the family quickly forces them to move and they leave Ohio. They moved to Michigan. At that moment, Thomas was quite lonely, which is why he was constantly looking for new information. This worried his father, who found his behavior strange while his mother had a complete understanding for Thomas.
She was the first to notice his uniqueness. When he started school, he was confused by the teaching methods used by the teachers at the time. Lessons were memorized, and ignorance was severely punished with beatings. Because of that, Thomas received poor grades and switched to learning at home, and was taught by his mother, who used to be a teacher.
This is where Thomas’ educational journey begins and he shows remarkable progress. He started reading classical literature at the age of only nine, but his real love was physics. The topic that immediately fascinated him was Electricity, because then electricity was not a part of everyday life. The lamps had a very unpleasant smell and appearance, and were much more expensive than candles. However, there was a telegraph and Edison quickly learned to handle it.
The job
Edison’s first job was on the train, where he worked as a teenager. He sold newspapers and sweets on a train in Michigan. He spent his free time at the Detroit Public Library, where he constantly absorbed new knowledge. Unfortunately, that is also the period in which it was already clear that Edison would become deaf.
The reasons could be numerous. Lack of hearing did not prevent him from continuing to progress. After some time, his career as a young businessman begins. They got the right to be the exclusive seller of newspapers on the railways.
This is where he starts a small business with a few assistants. He was only 14 years old when he bought a small printing press and printed the first newspaper on a moving train. Then, he opened two stores where he sold fruits and vegetables.
Inventions
Although Thomas Edison had to do everything on his own and couldn’t count on aid from InventHelp, that didn’t stop him from becoming world famous. His most famous invention is certainly the light bulb. However, he also invented the phonogram, printed letters, film camera, megaphone and that’s not all. His first authentic invention was an automatic repeater.
This is the result of his numerous experiments in the telegraph institutes. His first invention sent telegraph signals between stations, and people did not have to operate it. His return home and the situation he finds there lead him to a new path. He decides to get rich to help parents who are in a bad financial situation. He went back and got a job as a telegraph operator in Boston.
He worked on his projects all the time and after half a year he applied for his first patent. It was a machine for counting votes in the elections, but the proposal was rejected. The next project was the Harmonic Telegraph, and soon there will be incredible progress with innovations. He opened a technology laboratory and invented the first phonograph.
Phonograph
This was Edison’s favorite thing. It consisted of all the needles. One was for recording and the other for voice reproduction. The invention was a great success, but it was not easy to use. However, the experts did a great job with him. His application was writing letters and dictating, making a photo book for the blind, family photos, etc.
Incandescent light bulb
Encouraged by the improvements introduced by Bell, he decides on a new venture. To outperform his competition, he invented the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb. Although the light bulb has existed for a long time, before Edison it was an ordinary vacuum glass tube. However, Edison perfected Swan’s light bulb design, which was imperfect.
Electricity
Edison is also credited with delivering direct current to large areas. The first commercial system for the production and distribution of electricity was built. With this invention, the power supply of residential and business buildings was started, which was great news. The Americans got affordable electricity and lighting. Later, there were mergers in which companies participated, and all that led to innovations in alternating current.
Motion Picture Camera
After the phonograph, he went a step further. In collaboration with his employee, he invented the film camera. After that, he built a studio for the production of films for filming. Then, he makes his own device for showing movies, which is the forerunner of today’s movie projectors.
Alkaline batteries
After a large number of experiments, an alkaline solution is reached. It produces a longer battery, = a lighter, more reliable and more powerful battery for storing electric cars in that period. This is definitely a project that brought Edison a lot of money later.
Conclusion
Edison has made a huge contribution to humanity, and some of his inventions are: the water polo telegraph, the incandescent light bulb, the onographic cylinder, the carbon microphone, etc. Although he received almost no formal education but was taught by his mother, he achieved great success. He remained remembered in the history of science and beyond.
