preview

Thomas Edison : The Life And Life Of Thomas Alva Edison

Decent Essays

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. He was the youngest of seven children. His mother was Nancy Matthews Elliott and his father was Samuel Edison Jr. Edison has gone to school for a very short time, only twelve weeks. He was hyperactive when he was a child and his teachers had problems teaching him. So, instead of going to school, his mother taught him, who was a teacher. Edison also had an ear infection at a young age which led to some hearing loss. Thomas Edison

When he was just twelve years old, he sold newspapers at the Grand Trunk Railroad line in Mount Clemens, Michigan. He used his ability to access the railroads to do experiments in a small baggage car, and began to invent. At fifteen, he traveled throughout as a telegrapher, in the Midwest. He studied the telegraph and electrical science. In 1866, he went to Kentucky, to work as a telegrapher. The Morse Code advanced to only sounds and not on pieces of paper. Since Edison had difficulty hearing, he could not hear the clicks very well. Edison had a disadvantage because of this. So, his employment opportunities were low.
In 1868, Alva went to Western Union Company, in Boston, to look for a job in science. He invented an electric voting record to count the votes quickly. This was his first ever patent for an invention. But, lawmakers were not interested. In 1869, Thomas went to New York and invented the Universal Stock Printer. It synchronized transitions by the tickers.The Gold and Stock Telegraph Company paid him $40,000 for it. He wanted to spend his time in inventing, so he quit his telegrapher job. In the 1870’s, he built a manufacturing company and a small laboratory in Newark, New Jersey. He invented the quadruplex telegraph, which allowed you to, on the same wire, transmit two signals, in two different directions. For more than $100,000, Jay Gould bought the invention from Edison. Edison then built research facilities and laboratories in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876. Western Union wanted Alva to make a telephone better than Alexander Graham Bell’s. He did not compete with Bell, but he made improvements to the telephone. In 1877, Edison invented the phonograph, which allowed you to record

Get Access