Thomas alva edison invented

© Underwood & Underwood/Underwood & Underwood/Corbis Without question, our lives would be very different without the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. This prodigious creator changed our culture in countless ways with the seemingly miraculous devices that flooded out of his New Jersey laboratory. Edison, born in Ohio in 1847, obtained his first patent at the age of 21. The last patent in his name was granted two years after his death, in 1933. In between, he tallied 1,093 United States patents and more than 1,200 patents in other countries [source: Alex Wong/Getty Images Edison was a 22-year-old telegraph operator when he received his first patent for a machine he called the electrographic vote-recorder. He was one of several inventors at the time developing methods for legislative bodies, such as the U.S. Congress, to record their votes in a more timely fashion than the time-honored voice vote system. In Edison's vote-recorder, a voting device was connected to the clerk's desk. At the desk, the names of the legislators were embedded in metal type in two columns -- "yes" and "no." Legislators would move a switch on the device to point to either "yes" or "no," sending an A friend of Edison's, another telegraph operator named Dewitt Roberts, bought an interest in his machine for $100 and tried to sell it to Washington to no avail. Congress wanted no part of any device that would increase the speed of voting -- decreasing the time for filibusters and political wheeling and de...

Thomas Alva Edison, born in Ohio on February 11, 1847, was one of the most well-known inventors of all time. He spent a few of his early years in formal schooling, but he received most of his education at home. Thomas set up a laboratory in the basement of his family's Michigan home and spent most of his time experimenting. Edison's mother, Nancy, knew her son was fond of chemistry and electronics, so she gave him books to read on the subjects. One book explained how to perform chemistry experiments at home; Thomas did every one in the book. A biographer of Edison once noted: "His mother had accomplished that which all truly great teachers do for their pupils, she brought him to the stage of learning things for himself, learning that which most amused and interested him, and she encouraged him to go on in that path. It was the very best thing she could have done for this singular boy." As Edison himself put it: "My mother was the making of me. She understood me; she let me follow my bent." In 1859, the Grand Trunk Railroad was extended to Port Huron, Michigan. Thomas got a job as a newsboy for the day-long trip to Detroit and back. Since there was a five-hour layover in Detroit, Edison asked for permission to move his laboratory to the baggage car of the train so he could continue his experiments there. This worked for a little while, until the train lurched forward and spilled some chemicals, setting the laboratory on fire. While working for the railroad, Thomas saved the...

The electric light wasn’t Thomas Edison’s first invention, nor was he the first to create an alternative to gaslight. Electric lights already existed on a streetlight scale when, on this day in 1879, Edison tested the one he’s famous for. Though he didn’t come up with the whole concept, his light bulb was the first that proved practical, and affordable, for home illumination. The trick had been choosing a filament that would be durable but inexpensive, and the team at Edison’s “invention factory” in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Times reporter who toured the factory just after his successful test run: “As there is no oxygen to burn,” said Mr. Edison, “you can readily see that this piece of carbon will last an ordinary life-time. It has the property of resisting the heat of the current of electricity, while at the same time it becomes incandescent, and gives out one of the most brilliant lights which the world has ever seen. The cost of preparing one of these little horse-shoes of carbon is about 1 cent, and the entire lamp will cost not more than 25 cents.” While Edison considered the invention his “crowning triumph,” it joined the long list of contributions that made him a record-holder for sheer number of U.S. patents — 1,093 — until the 21st century. His And although his accomplishments spoke for themselves, Edison was equally prolific, and ambitious, in inventing myths to boost his reputation as a larger-than-life innovator, as “Untrue,” says TIME. “He had at least three yea...

Everyone thinks of light bulbs when they hear Thomas Alva Edison's name. His creative genius, though, came through in his numerous other inventions, from the electrical power system and the phonograph that could record and play back sound, to motion picture technology and storage batteries (he believed in electric cars!). Edison’s parents, Samuel and Nancy. (Edison National Historic Site 14.300/2) Growing up Thomas Alva Edison (nicknamed Al) was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Edison was an inquisitive boy who began experimenting at an early age. His hometown of Milan, Ohio, was a busy place. Canals were the highways of the early 19th century. The Huron Canal connected Milan to the Huron River, which flowed into Lake Erie, giving eventual access to the Atlantic Ocean, making Milan an important shipping port. But when the railroad reached that part of Ohio, it bypassed Milan and the town's trade faded. So when Al was seven, the family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, hoping for a better future. In this new location Al's father engaged in a variety of trades, including lumbering, land speculation, farming, and carpentry. Seeking a way to make money, he built a tall observation tower beside their home. Tourists paid a fee to climb the tower and enjoy the expansive view of the Lake Huron area. But the tower was never a great money maker. Al, the youngest child in the family, was rather sickly and a great concern for his mother, who had already lost two children in inf...

Thomas Alva Edison, (born Feb. 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio, U.S.—died Oct. 18, 1931, West Orange, N.J.), U.S. inventor. He had very little formal schooling. He set up a laboratory in his father’s basement at age 10; at 12 he was earning money selling newspapers and candy on trains. He worked as a telegrapher (1862–68) before deciding to pursue invention and entrepreneurship. Throughout much of his career, he was strongly motivated by efforts to overcome his handicap of partial deafness. For Western Union he developed a machine capable of sending four telegraph messages down one wire, only to sell the invention to Western Union’s rival, Jay Gould, for more than $100,000. He created the world’s first industrial-research laboratory, in Menlo Park, N.J. There he invented the carbon-button transmitter (1877), still used in telephone speakers and microphones today; the phonograph (1877); and the incandescent lightbulb (1879). To develop the lightbulb, he was advanced $30,000 by such financiers as Related Article Summaries

The electric light wasn’t Thomas Edison’s first invention, nor was he the first to create an alternative to gaslight. Electric lights already existed on a streetlight scale when, on this day in 1879, Edison tested the one he’s famous for. Though he didn’t come up with the whole concept, his light bulb was the first that proved practical, and affordable, for home illumination. The trick had been choosing a filament that would be durable but inexpensive, and the team at Edison’s “invention factory” in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Times reporter who toured the factory just after his successful test run: “As there is no oxygen to burn,” said Mr. Edison, “you can readily see that this piece of carbon will last an ordinary life-time. It has the property of resisting the heat of the current of electricity, while at the same time it becomes incandescent, and gives out one of the most brilliant lights which the world has ever seen. The cost of preparing one of these little horse-shoes of carbon is about 1 cent, and the entire lamp will cost not more than 25 cents.” While Edison considered the invention his “crowning triumph,” it joined the long list of contributions that made him a record-holder for sheer number of U.S. patents — 1,093 — until the 21st century. His And although his accomplishments spoke for themselves, Edison was equally prolific, and ambitious, in inventing myths to boost his reputation as a larger-than-life innovator, as “Untrue,” says TIME. “He had at least three yea...

© Underwood & Underwood/Underwood & Underwood/Corbis Without question, our lives would be very different without the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison. This prodigious creator changed our culture in countless ways with the seemingly miraculous devices that flooded out of his New Jersey laboratory. Edison, born in Ohio in 1847, obtained his first patent at the age of 21. The last patent in his name was granted two years after his death, in 1933. In between, he tallied 1,093 United States patents and more than 1,200 patents in other countries [source: Alex Wong/Getty Images Edison was a 22-year-old telegraph operator when he received his first patent for a machine he called the electrographic vote-recorder. He was one of several inventors at the time developing methods for legislative bodies, such as the U.S. Congress, to record their votes in a more timely fashion than the time-honored voice vote system. In Edison's vote-recorder, a voting device was connected to the clerk's desk. At the desk, the names of the legislators were embedded in metal type in two columns -- "yes" and "no." Legislators would move a switch on the device to point to either "yes" or "no," sending an A friend of Edison's, another telegraph operator named Dewitt Roberts, bought an interest in his machine for $100 and tried to sell it to Washington to no avail. Congress wanted no part of any device that would increase the speed of voting -- decreasing the time for filibusters and political wheeling and de...

Thomas Alva Edison, born in Ohio on February 11, 1847, was one of the most well-known inventors of all time. He spent a few of his early years in formal schooling, but he received most of his education at home. Thomas set up a laboratory in the basement of his family's Michigan home and spent most of his time experimenting. Edison's mother, Nancy, knew her son was fond of chemistry and electronics, so she gave him books to read on the subjects. One book explained how to perform chemistry experiments at home; Thomas did every one in the book. A biographer of Edison once noted: "His mother had accomplished that which all truly great teachers do for their pupils, she brought him to the stage of learning things for himself, learning that which most amused and interested him, and she encouraged him to go on in that path. It was the very best thing she could have done for this singular boy." As Edison himself put it: "My mother was the making of me. She understood me; she let me follow my bent." In 1859, the Grand Trunk Railroad was extended to Port Huron, Michigan. Thomas got a job as a newsboy for the day-long trip to Detroit and back. Since there was a five-hour layover in Detroit, Edison asked for permission to move his laboratory to the baggage car of the train so he could continue his experiments there. This worked for a little while, until the train lurched forward and spilled some chemicals, setting the laboratory on fire. While working for the railroad, Thomas saved the...

Thomas Alva Edison, (born Feb. 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio, U.S.—died Oct. 18, 1931, West Orange, N.J.), U.S. inventor. He had very little formal schooling. He set up a laboratory in his father’s basement at age 10; at 12 he was earning money selling newspapers and candy on trains. He worked as a telegrapher (1862–68) before deciding to pursue invention and entrepreneurship. Throughout much of his career, he was strongly motivated by efforts to overcome his handicap of partial deafness. For Western Union he developed a machine capable of sending four telegraph messages down one wire, only to sell the invention to Western Union’s rival, Jay Gould, for more than $100,000. He created the world’s first industrial-research laboratory, in Menlo Park, N.J. There he invented the carbon-button transmitter (1877), still used in telephone speakers and microphones today; the phonograph (1877); and the incandescent lightbulb (1879). To develop the lightbulb, he was advanced $30,000 by such financiers as Related Article Summaries

Everyone thinks of light bulbs when they hear Thomas Alva Edison's name. His creative genius, though, came through in his numerous other inventions, from the electrical power system and the phonograph that could record and play back sound, to motion picture technology and storage batteries (he believed in electric cars!). Edison’s parents, Samuel and Nancy. (Edison National Historic Site 14.300/2) Growing up Thomas Alva Edison (nicknamed Al) was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Edison was an inquisitive boy who began experimenting at an early age. His hometown of Milan, Ohio, was a busy place. Canals were the highways of the early 19th century. The Huron Canal connected Milan to the Huron River, which flowed into Lake Erie, giving eventual access to the Atlantic Ocean, making Milan an important shipping port. But when the railroad reached that part of Ohio, it bypassed Milan and the town's trade faded. So when Al was seven, the family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, hoping for a better future. In this new location Al's father engaged in a variety of trades, including lumbering, land speculation, farming, and carpentry. Seeking a way to make money, he built a tall observation tower beside their home. Tourists paid a fee to climb the tower and enjoy the expansive view of the Lake Huron area. But the tower was never a great money maker. Al, the youngest child in the family, was rather sickly and a great concern for his mother, who had already lost two children in inf...