Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison

A Curious Boy From an early age, Thomas Edison loved to question things. He spent his whole life learning why and how things worked. Once he knew how things worked, he tried to figure out how to make them work better. Thomas Edison invented or improved over a thousand things, some of which we use every day. Many people think of him as one of the greatest American inventors of all time.

Young Al Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847. Al, as he was called as a boy, did not do well in school. In those days, students memorized facts. They didn't explore and ask their own questions, which is what Al loved to do. Al's mother took her son out of school and taught him at home. She taught him to love to read. His father gave Al ten cents for every classic book he read.

Al started to work on the railroad when he was twelve years old. He sold food and newspapers. Al used the money he earned to buy books and science supplies. He set up a lab in a baggage car until an accidental fire ended his experiments. Also around this time, Al lost most of his hearing. As an adult, he would say someone grabbed him by the ears and pulled him onto a train. When he was fifteen, Al saved a young boy's life. The boy was about to be run over by a boxcar when Al grabbed him. The child's thankful father offered to teach Al how to be a telegraph operator. As Al grew older, he traveled around the country as a telegraph operator. He wanted to be called Tom and continued to be interested in science. He spent much of the money he earned on books and supplies.

Edison the Inventor After a few years, Edison decided to become a full-time inventor. Some of his early inventions were improvements on the telegraph. For example, he found a way to send two messages and receive two messages at the same time. Earlier telegraphs could only send or receive one. Edison received his first patent, for an electric vote counter, in 1869. The invention did not do well. Edison continued to invent. He said he would not give up, no matter what happened.

A New Lab Edison found partners and began to build and sell some of his inventions. In 1876, he built a lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was the first for-profit research lab in the world. People called it the “ invention factory. " There, Edison worked for many hours each day, and many of his workers stayed with him just as long.