Biography of the greatest inventors of all time from childhood till death
Until the late 1800s,
most people went to bed soon after sunset. They used candles and oil or gas
lamps for light. American inventor Thomas Edison changed the way people live
when he invented the first practical light bulb. The light bulb was just one of
more than 1,000 inventions created by one of the greatest inventors of all
time.
Life And Career
Thomas Alva Edison was
born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847, and grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. He attended
school for only three months. His mother taught him reading, writing, and
arithmetic.
In 1862, Edison saved
a boy from being run over by a train. The boy’s father operated a telegraph
machine, which sent coded messages over wire. As thanks, the father taught
Edison how to operate the telegraph. Edison then made improvements to the
telegraph. He earned money from his inventions.
Research Laboratory
In 1876, Edison started
the first industrial research laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. By then,
Edison was partially deaf. He worked very hard. He lived in his laboratory and
became rich from his inventions. He was married twice and had six children. But
he worked so much that he spent little time with his family.
Great Inventions
Edison’s greatest inventions
included an improved telephone, the phonograph, the motion-picture camera, and
electric storage batteries. He is best remembered for inventing a long-lasting
light bulb.
In the 1870s, many inventors
were trying to make a practical light bulb. Edison tried hundreds of schemes.
Finally he found a filament (thin thread) made of carbon. An electric spark
made the filament glow inside a glass tube. Edison’s incandescent (glowing with
heat) lamp was a great success. It burned steadily for more than 40 hours.
Edison wanted people to
have electric light in their homes. So he built the first electric power
plants.
People liked Edison because
he was a down-to-earth man. His favourite saying was, “Genius is 1 percent
inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
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