Thomas Edison Essay -- Biography History Thomas Edison Essays

Thomas Edison was a man who influenced America more than anyone else. Some of the inventions he pioneered are still used to this day. He was a man who spent almost his entire life working as a scientist, and receiving more than 1,200 patents in his lifetime. (Anderson pg.7) Thomas Edison’s life was probably twice as productive as a modern day chemist, he was a firm believer of an eight hour work day, eight hours in the morning, and eight in the afternoon. Aside from his amazing history as an adult Edison lived an equally exciting childhood. Thomas Edison was born in Milan Ohio on February 11, 1847. At the time, his father was owner of a successful shingle and lumber company. However with new railroads being built through Milan his father lost customers to the bigger companies which began to open. The Edison’s were forced to move to Port Huron, where he first began his education. When he was only seven years old his teacher, the Reverend G.B. Engle considered Thomas to b e a dull student, and was terrible in math. After three months of school his teacher called him "addled," which means confused or mixed up. Thomas stormed home.(minot, pg1) The next day, Nancy Edison brought Thomas back to school to talk to Reverend Engle. He told her that Thomas couldn’t learn. His mother became so angry at the strict Reverend that she decided to home-school him.(minot 1) After a while his mother, a former teacher herself, recognized his un usual abilities to reason. She quickly got him interested in History and Classic books. Thomas however was strangely attracted to the subject of science. By the age of ten Thomas Edison had already been experimenting and by now owned a sizable quantity of chemicals. Unfortunately his experiments were often quite expensive and he found it his duty to pay for them. Because he didn’t go to school he had plenty of time to earn money by himself. When he was only twelve, he began selling newspapers on the Grand Trunk Railway, he even printed the newspapers himself (Szhlmen, 1). He spent everything he earned on books and chemicals after about one year his mother became so sick of the noises of exploding beakers and the smell of burning flooded the house with smoke that he was no longer allowed to work in the house (Minot). Luckily h e was given permission to move to his lab into the train baggage car. He would be able to experiment during t... ...f a projector but failed. Edison had trouble making a new and improved projector so he settled for helping other inventors further develop theirs. Edison strongly backed the invention of the vitascope. The vitascope was a more efficient version of Edison’s kinetoscope. This new projector was very popular in New York, however, cinematography quickly took its place in the eyes of the public. On the topic of cinematography, the feelings of the public can best be summed up by this quotation, "Moving pictures somehow seemed more important and exciting than seeing actors and actresses strutting around on a mere stage" (Allen 175). Bibliography Thomas Alva Edison was a man who influenced America more than anyone else. Some of the inventions he pioneered are still used to this day. He was a man who spent almost his entire life working as a scientist, and receiving more than 1,200 patents in his lifetime. (Anderson pg.7) Thomas Edison’s life was probably twice as productive as a modern day chemist, he was a firm believer of an eight hour work day, eight hours in the morning, and eight in the afternoon. Aside from his amazing history as an adult Edison lived an equally exciting childhood.