Thomas Edison

By: Lindsay Dietrich, Daniel Mark, and Jess Wise

Thomas Edison was in search of an idea, and then

a light went on...

Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. When he was seven, he was learning in a one-room

schoolhouse. Thomas spent 12 weeks in class with 38 other students, at 11 different ages, and one teacher.

Thomas was a very eager student and constantly asked his teacher questions. His teacher was often overwhelmed by

the amount of students, ages, and different levels.

Thomas’s mother realized this and soon withdrew him

from school to begin to “home-teach” Thomas. His

parent’s exposed him to many different types of literature and learning. Thomas quickly grew to prefer independent self-

instruction. He did this by using resources at a library.

An interesting fact about Thomas was he became

totally deaf in his left ear and about 80 percent deaf in his right. He was a remarkably

intelligent person who contributed some great inventions to society.

Thomas Edison had many great inventions throughout his life. His first greatest invention was the phonograph. Thomas Edison was trying to tweak the telegraph when he

accidentally invented the phonograph.

Thomas Edison also created the Edison

Motion Pictures. Edison thought “the Edison Motion Pictures is to

the eye what the phonograph does for

the ear.”

Although there are many different inventions, the most famous one he is

known for is the light bulb. The light bulb was created in 1879. Although the idea was not a new one, Edison found a way to make

practical for people in their houses.

Edison’s invention of the light bulb helped many

people in different ways. People no longer had to rely on daylight or oil

lamps. Light bulbs allowed people to have light in their homes during the

night. This also made the work force independent

and they could work around the clock if need be. People could be more productive 24 hours a day instead of either when the

sun was out, or by burning oil lamps. Light

bulbs definitely made life easier for everyone of all

ages.

Click or right click on the picture below to watch a video

on Thomas Edison .

ResourcesBeals, G. (1997). The biography of thomas edison. Retrieved from http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html

Bellis, M. (2010). The inventions of thomas edison. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm

Discovery Education (2004). (YouTube). Thomas Edison. Retrieved from http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=AA2422D5-5F21-48D3-ABF9-A6CE92C4FAFB&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

The great idea finder: light bulb (1998). Retrieved from http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/lightbulb.htm

Images

Edison (all 3 pics): http://www.menloparkmuseum.org/thomas-edison-and-menlo-parklight bulb: http://didyouknow.org/who-invented-the-light-bulb/

light bulb: http://didyouknow.org/who-invented-the-light-bulb/

map: http://www.bestplaces.net/city/ohio/milan

phonograph: http://chicagoist.com/2007/04/23/reviewed_andrew_bird_at_the_riviera_theatre.php