Thomas Edison: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Thomas Edison.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Thomas Alva Edison]]

'''Thomas Alva Edison''' ([[February 11]], [[1847]] &ndash; [[October 18]], [[1931]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[inventor]] and [[businessman]] who developed many important devices. "The Wizard of [[Menlo Park, New Jersey|Menlo Park]]" was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of [[mass production]] to the process of [[invention]]. In 1880 Edison founded the journal [[Science_%28journal%29|<i>''Science</i>'']], which in 1900 became the journal of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]].

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors of his time, holding a record 1,093 [[patent]]s in his name. Most of these inventions were not completely original but improvements of earlier patents, and were actually made by his numerous employees. Edison was frequently criticized for not sharing the credits. Nevertheless, Edison received [[patent]]s worldwide, including the [[United States]], [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], and [[Germany]]. Edison started the [[Motion Picture Patents Company]], which was a conglomerate of nine major film studios (commonly known as the Edison Trust).

In the early [[1900s]], Thomas Edison bought a house in [[Fort Myers, Florida]] (Seminole Lodge) as a winter retreat. [[Henry Ford]], the automobile magnate lived across the street at his winter retreat (The Mangoes). They were friends until Edison died. The [[Edison and Ford Winter Estates]] are now open to the public.

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From [[Port Huron]], Sam Edison moved to [[Detroit]], then [[Peru, Ohio]], and finally to [[Milan, Ohio]]. That town was enjoying an economic boom. Sam's family joined him and in [[1847]] grew with the birth of their seventh child, [[Thomas Alva Edison]]. The economic success in Milan was soon over, though, and seven-year-old "Al" and his family moved again, this time to [[Port Huron, MI]].

[[Thomas Edison]] had a late start in his schooling due to childhood illnesses. His mind often wandered and shortly into his schooling his teacher, [[Alexander Crawford]], was overheard calling him "addled." This ended Edison's three-months of formal schooling. His mother had been a school teacher in Canada and happily took over the job of schooling her son in his academics. Mrs. Edison encouraged and taught her son to read and experiment. Many of his lessons came from reading the book [["Parker's School of Natural Philosophy."]]

Edison's life in [[Port Huron, Michigan]] was a bittersweet experience. His curious mind and need to know got him into a lot of trouble. But it was here that he had his first [[laboratory]] in the basement of his family home. At the age of twelve, Edison began work as a [[newsbutcher]] on the Canadian-based [[Grand Trunk Railway]]. He rode the trains daily, selling candy, fruits, and vegtables, from [[Port Huron]], to [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] and back again. He also worked as a pig slaughterer and started his own business selling [[vegetable]]s. Around [[1862]], Edison printed and published ''[[The Weekly Herald]]''. It was the first [[newspaper]] ever to be typeset and printed on a moving train. Today, the paper is known as the Port Huron ''[[Times-Herald]]''. [[Partial loss of hearing|Partially deaf]] since adolescence, he became a [[telegraph]] operator after he saved the life of J.U. MacKenzie's son, Jimmie, from being struck by a runaway railcar. MacKenzie was so grateful, he took Edison under his wing and trained him as a telegraph operator. Edison's deafness aided him with his telegraphy work as it blocked out noises and prevented Edison from hearing the telegrapher sitting next to him. Some of his earliest inventions related to electrical telegraphy, included a stock ticker. Edison applied for his first patent, the electric vote recorder, on [[October 28]], [[1868]].

==Middle years==