Thomas. Edison: A Brief Biography Of Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison

“American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was a pioneering figure in science whose inventions and innovations forever changed the way people lived all over.” (Thomas Alva Edison Scientist, p.1 par. 2) This famous quote is about the inventor Thomas Edison. Edison was a great inventor because he kept on trying and trying and trying until he finally got his inventions to be perfect. He worked very hard on some of his most famous inventions, such as the phonograph and the lightbulb. Thomas Edison was a significant figure in American history because his invention of the lightbulb greatly helped Americans see and work at night and also inspired others to create better technology.

“Thomas Alva Edison is considered one of the greatest inventors of all time.” (Thomas Alva Edison Scientists, p.1, par. 3) He was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. He was the youngest of seven children. Edison wasn’t a great student. He would easily get distracted and was slow at learning. He only attended school for three months. Then, his mother taught him at home. His mother was very amazed at how fascinated he was by experiments and moving objects. In the baggage car of the train called “Grand Trunk Railroad”, he sold his own newspaper and conducted experiments. But, due to an accidental fire, he had to close down his laboratory. Around the age of 12, Thomas Edison lost almost all of his hearing. No one figured out why, but some thought it was “probably an aftereffect of scarlet fever” (Thomas Alva Edison Scientists, p.2, par.1) or from the conductor boxing his ears when there was a fire in the baggage car.

In 1862, Thomas Edison “snatched MacKenzie’s three-year-old son off the train tracks and out of the path of a stray boxcar.” (Adair...

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...on’s inventions. He brought light into the world and showed people that even hard things could be done if you have a lot of patience. Thomas Edison proved that you don’t have to be smart to be able to achieve a lot. He didn’t learn that much in school, but he became a very famous and wealthy inventor. “By the time of his death in 1931, Edison had received 1,093 U.S. patents, a total still untouched by any other inventor. Even more important, he created a model for modern industrial research.” (Thomas Alva Edison Biography, p.4, par.6)

In conclusion, Thomas Edison was a significant figure in American history because he invented the lightbulb and helped Americans see in the dark. Many people started creating other advanced inventions using his inventions. He started the electrical age. Thomas Edison influenced Americans to do things that may seem impossible at first.