THOMAS EDISON

THOMAS EDISON QUOTE

• "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."- Edison

EARLY LIFE

• He was born to middle class parents.
• He was born in the port of Milan, Ohio, was the second largest wheat shipping center in the world.
• If modern psychology had existed back then, Tom would have been deemed a victim of ADHD.
• Once she found out about his disorder, Thomas's mother took him out of school and began to teach him herself.
• At age 11 Thomas's parents taught him how to use the resources at the local library.

EARLY LIFE

• By age 12 he had read the World Dictionary of Science and a number of works on Practical Chemistry.
• At age 12 he "worked on the local railroad, selling newspapers snacks and candy.
• He had very poor hearing. He was completely deaf in his left year and about 80% deaf in his right.
• By age 16 he came up with his first authentic invention, it was called automatic repeater.

LATER LIFE

• In 1869, Edison moved to New York and invented an improved stock ticker.
• In 1876, he moved his expanding operations to Menlo Park, New Jersey.
• Edison founded the Edison Illuminating Company in 1880.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• In 1881, he left Menlo Park to establish facilities in several cities where electrical systems were being installed.
• In 1882, the Pearl Street generating station provided 110 volts of electricity to 59 customers in lower Manhattan.
• He was granted a patent for the lightbulb in January of 1880.
• On April 23, 1896 Edison became the first person to project a motion picture.
• During World War I the US government asked him to examine inventions for the military to use.

LATER LIFE

• Edison had 1,093 patents.
• Died on the 52nd anniversary of the invention of the lightbulb.