Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio U. S. His father named Samuel Odgen Edison, Jr. and his mother named Nancy Matthews Elliot. His father had to escaped from the Canada government because he took part in an unsuccessful rebellion called Mackenzie. When Thomas went to school the teacher called him addled, because his mind often wandered. When his mother hear about this, his mother stop him from school. And his mother taught him at home. Much of his knowledge and education came from reading R. G. Parker’s School of Natural Philosophy.
Thomas became deaf at young age, because of a scarlet fever during his childhood. In his later years, his ear became worse because the train conductor lifted up the train by his ears. Thomas’ family moved to Port Huron, Michigan because their business declined after the railroad bypassed Milan in 1854. Thomas sold candy and newspaper on trains from Port Huron to Detroit. He also performed many chemical experiments on the train until facing accidents. Thomas gained the right to sell newspapers on the road, and with the help of other four assistants, he printed the
Grand Trunk Herald to sell with other papers. At this point, he had discovered that he have had a talents in business. Edison became a telegraph operator after he saved a three year olds Jimmie. Jimmie’s father, J. U. Mackenzie, work as a telegraph operator in Mount Clemens, Michigan. In return to Thomas, J. U. Mackenzie trained Thomas as a telegraph operator. Thomas’ first telegraphy Job was at Stratford Junction, Ontario, on the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1866, at the age of 19, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky and worked in Western Union.
He worked as the Associated Press in bureau news wire. Thomas worked at night, which provided him time for reading books and performed chemical experiments. One night in 1867, he was working with lead-acid battery and he spilled sulphuric acid onto the floor. It ran between the floorboards onto his boss’ desks in beneath floors. The next morning Thomas was fired. Then he meet a fellow telegrapher and inventor named Franklin Leonard Pope, who provided poor youth to live and work in his home. Thomas’ early inventions were mostly related to telegraphy, including stock ticker.
His first patent was for vote recorder, which was permitted on June 1, 1869. On December 25, 1871, Thomas married 16 year olds Mary Stilwell and she died at the age of 29 by unknown causes. They had three children: Marion Estelle Edison, Thomas Alva Edison, Jr. , and William Leslie Edison. On February 24, 1886, at the age of thirty-nine, he married the 20 year olds Mina Miller, daughter of the inventor Lewis Miller. They also had three children: Madeleine Edison, Charles Edison, and Theodore Edison. His first phonograph recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinders, but had poor sound quality.
In 1880s, a redesigned model using wax-coated cardboard ylinders was produced by Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell, and Charles Tainter. So Thomas continued to work on his perfect phonograph. After Thomas sell his quadruplex telegraph, he built his first industrial research lab and named it Menlo Park Laboratory. At this institution many inventions was produced there and many employees carried out research and development under his direction. In all telephones along with the Bell receiver until 1980. It also used in radio broadcast and public address until 1920.
Thomas did not invent the first electric light bulb, but e invented the first well-known and practical incandescent light. This invention was the most well-known inventions. In 1878, Thomas created Edison Electric Light Company in New York J. P. Morgan and the members of Vanderbilt family. After many experiments, first with carbon filaments in the early 1800 and then with platinum and other metals. The first successful test was on October 22, 1879, it lasted 13. 5 hours. Edison continue to improve this design and by November 4, 1879 developed an electric lamp using carbon filament and connect to platina contact wires.
Thomas Alva Edison died on October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey, U. S. at the age of According to the story, Thomas Edison struggles and brings out his best in every work he did. Thomas Edison was a genius man. He was talented in business and science. But Thomas Edison’s slogan was “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety- nine percent perspiration”. It shows that work is not accomplished by genius, but by working hard. I felt that this book encourage us to work hard, try our bests, and ask God for helps. If we are genius, do not be proud of ourselves but try to use it as an advantage and do not wastes it.
