Thomas Alva Edison : Overcoming Life's Obstacles

Which American inventor do you think did the greatest thing for America and the rest of the world? Many people will say different things, but there is one prominent inventor who stands out among all others: Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was a great inventor who we owe many thanks to for creating the very first safe, commercially available incandescent light bulb.

In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the first incandescent light bulb in a competitive community. The invention of the electrical light bulb was built on commutative work done by previous scientists and researchers. Edison was invited to William Wallace workshop to examine the Wallace’s prototype. Edison thought that the prototype has something wrong, “I believe that I can beat you making the electrical light. I do not think that you are working in the right direction” Edison told Wallace [1]. Therefore, he decided to do make his own electrical light and there race was started. After a week of his visit to Wallace workshop, Edison was already invented the first light bulb. The success that was achieved by Edison led to a big success for his company,

The age of the Enlightenment was a time when people were coming together and creating new ideas and inventions to improve the life of the people. Many things were made during this time period, and without them life today would be very different. Examples of some of these inventions are the light bulb and the phonograph that Thomas Edison is credited with inventing. With the light bulb, our days would be cut short due to fact that people can’t see in the dark. Without the light bulb and phonograph things like TVs, cell phones, computer, and other electronic devices that people today can not live without would have never been thought of. The focus of this essay is what caused Edison to become an inventor and some of his inventions like the previously stated light bulb and phonograph.

Thomas Edison is seen as the grandfather of technology to most but, not all. Edison is seen to some as a villain in history as he has gotten credit for ideas such as the light bulb that had come from someone else. The truth is Edison is both not an angel nor devil. Edison is a hero because of his large amount of inventions, he took challenges and used them for strength over weaknesses, and he is seen as a role model as both an engineer along with a person in general. Edison could also seen as bad from the fact sometimes he let his wealth control him and some of is innovation ideas are believed to have been stolen. The truth is Edison is neither extreme however should be viewed much more positively than negatively.

This is Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison is a famous inventor who invented lots of things that we use today. He was born a very long time ago in the United States of America.

So we all know Thomas Edison, but we didn’t really know what he did for us. So you ask yourself who is Thomas Edison, well he was an inventor and he was well known for it. Was he the greatest inventor of all time? He made the phonograph. Also he made one of the greatest invention and it was the light bulb, but you ask , How did he invent light. What was his childhood like? what was his education like? what inventions did he make? Did he get married? Did he have kids?

With a head too big for his body and a weak small body, Edison’s doctors were worried he had brain damage. Though Edison was horrid at school, he was an zealous reader and always had his nose in a book. Edison also had a superb memory being able to clearly remember all the way back to his toddler years. Edison was so lacking in what was needed of a student of his age that he was not allowed to go to school for some time. Luckily his mother had the training and was able to give him a much higher education than the public schools could provide at any given time. Though Edison loved to read, he was aslo always interested in how things worked. Either the bridge or the train, Edison loved to watch the world around him come together. As Edison grew into a man, the family moved from Milan, Ohio to Port Huron, Michigan. While in Michigan, Edison's mother began to grow old and sick. Edison's father began new work in the grain and feed distribution business. As he grew older, his father paid him for each factual book he read and soon after Edison began his own laboratory of sorts. Edison had a love for chemistry and once he had his hands on a book of chemistry experiments he completed every experiment there was and labeled all his bottles of chemicals from the drugstore as “poison” so no one would lay a hand on them. Realizing he had meager cash to spend on his experiments, he went to find a way of earning easy money and

Business leaders were among those that ran the country. Were they good at it? That depends on the person ask. Andrew Carnegie was considered the King of Steel in his time. In the Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie explains that man should donate his earnings to enhance society.

Thomas Alva Edison was an unconventional genius that played a vital role in shaping the modern world with his inventions, but didn’t accomplish this role easily. Edison led an inquisitive life encompassing his disruptive adolescence, unconventional methods of success, and exceptional ability to endure failure. Although his inventions and ideologies exemplified him, Thomas Edison overcame tremendous obstacles throughout his lifetime before achieving his anticipated goals.

I chose Thomas Edison for my project. I chose Thomas Edison because I’m interested in learning about his life and inventions. I didn’t know much about Thomas Edison, but I had a lot of questions about his life. I also would like to know about more about some of his inventions and how he became a famous inventor. I also wondered what the world would be like if

The scientist that I have chosen that has contributed to American ingenuity is Thomas Edison. Thomas Alva Edison has been one of the most revered inventors of the 19th century. Thomas Edison has been known to be an inventor and entrepreneur. Most of Thomas Edison success involved electricity or communication. From his laboratories and workshops, he created the phonograph, carbon-button transmitter for the telephone speakers and microphone, the incandescent lamp, a generator, the first commercial electric light and power system. Thomas Edison was just not an inventor he was also an entrepreneur where he had patented close to 900 patents, which ranged from electric light and power of 389, 150 for telegraph, 195 for phonograph, 141 for storage

I believe Edison was edified and Tesla was nearly forgotten due to the fact Edison was a better businessman. In the article The Rise & Fall of Nikola Tesla & his Tower, it clearly expresses that Tesla lacked the business knowledge that Edison and other men in his field did. “But what [Tesla’s] contemporaries may have been lacking in scientific talent, men like Edison and George Westinghouse clearly possessed the one trait that Tesla did not -- a mind for business” (King, pg. 1). Edison’s superior knack for business left a long standing impression on American culture, history, and its memory which Tesla could not do.

Thomas Edison was an amazing Inventor who everyone knows about. He was born in Milan Ohio, February 11(“Thomas Alva Edison-Book”). Edison created many wonderful things like the electric lightbulb. He held more than 1,000 patents for his inventions(“Bio.com”). Thomas was also the last of seven children of Nancy and Samuel Edison(“History.com”)From being a very smart child, to becoming an amazing inventor, Thomas Edison became one of the most important Americans in history.

Melosi, Martin V. Thomas A. Edison and the Modernization of America. Pearson Education, Inc., 2008

I decided to do my report on Thomas Alva Edison because he brought a lot of things into our world. He invented the light bulb, the alkaline battery, the phonograph, and many other things. Many of our modern electronics origins came from Thomas A. Edison. I thought he was very interesting. That is why I chose him.