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Biography

Thomas Edison

Inventors and Scientists Occupation: Businessman and Inventor

Born: February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio

Died: October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey

Best known for: Inventing many useful items including the phonograph and a practical light bulb.

Biography: Thomas Edison may be the greatest inventor in history. He has over 1000 patents in his name. Many of his inventions still have a major affect on our lives today. He was also a business entrepreneur. Many of his inventions were group efforts in his large invention laboratory where he had many people working for him to help develop, build, and test his inventions. He also started many companies including General Electric, which is one of the biggest corporations in the world today.

Where did Edison grow up? Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. His family soon moved to Port Huron, Michigan where he spent most of his childhood. Surprisingly, he did not do well in school and ended up being home schooled by his mother. Thomas was an enterprising young man, selling vegetables, candy and newspapers on trains. One day he saved a child from a runaway train. The child's father repaid Edison by training him as a telegraph operator. As a telegraph operator, Thomas became interested in communications, which would be the focus of many of his inventions.

What was Menlo Park? Menlo Park, New Jersey is where Thomas Edison built his research labs. This was the first business or institution with the sole purpose of inventing. They would do research and science and then apply it to practical applications that could be manufactured and built on a large scale. There were a lot of employees working for Edison at Menlo park. These workers were inventors, too, and did a lot of work on Edison's ideas to help turn them into inventions.

What are Thomas Edison's most famous inventions? Thomas Edison has the patents and credits for many inventions. Three of his most famous include:

• The Phonograph - This was the first major invention by Edison and made him famous. It was the first machine that was able to record and playback sound.
• Light Bulb - Although he did not invent the first electric light, Edison made the first practical electric light bulb that could be manufactured and used in the home. He also invented other items that were needed make the light bulb practical for use in homes including safety fuses and on/off switches for light sockets.
• The Motion Picture - Edison did a lot of work in creating the motion picture camera and helping move forward the progress of practical movies.

Fun Facts About Thomas Edison

• His middle name was Alva and his family called him Al.
• His first two kids had the nicknames Dot and Dash.
• He set up his first lab in his parent's basement at the age of 10.
• He was partially deaf. His first invention was an electric vote recorder.
• His 1093 patents are the most on record.
• He said the words to "Mary had a little lamb" as the first recorded voice on the phonograph.