Thomas Alva Edison

Thomas Edison, known mostly for inventing the light bulb, was one of history's most productive inventors. He owned 1,093 patents--more than any other person. Though his family life is not well known, he was married twice and had six children.

He was the youngest of seven children and a very curious boy. He got in trouble in school for asking too many questions, so his mother, Nancy, took him out of school and he studied at home. When he was nine, his mother gave him a book of scientific experiments and he did all of them, which started his interest in science. He was ten when he set up a chemistry lab in his basement.

He also read a lot and at a young age understood many adult-level books. He got his first job when he was twelve, selling newspapers and candy to passengers on trains. He used all his money to buy chemicals, books and equipment for his lab. His hearing was damaged when he was fifteen, but he didn't want the operation to fix it because it helped him concentrate on his research.

Thomas made his first invention when he was sixteen. It was an automatic telegraph transmitter and receiver to help him with his boring job of hourly reporting. His first invention that made money was the Edison Universal Stock Printer which he made him $40,000 when he was 22. His father helped him build an "invention factory" in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876, where he and 60 other workers promised to create a small invention every 10 days and a big one every six months--and they did! That same year, he joined New York's J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts to form the Edison Electric Light Company, known today as General Electric.

Edison's favorite invention was the phonograph in 1877, because he made it all on his own. Many of his other inventions were improvements on already existing machines and ideas. The light bulb was Edison's most difficult and time consuming invention. He tested over 6,000 plant fibers for filaments, spent $40,000, and made 1,200 experiments before succeeding in 1879. Three years later he invented the world's first power station to run electric lights in New York City.

In 1887, Thomas Edison built a huge laboratory complex in West Orange, New Jersey where 5,000 people worked. This is where he invented the motion picture camera, also adding sound to movies in 1913. Two years later, he was appointed president of the U.S. Navy Consulting Board and helped establish the first military research lab. He worked at the West Orange labs for over 40 years, experimenting and inventing until his death at 84 years of age.