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Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison by Louis Bachrach

 Occupation: Businessman and Inventor  Born: February 11, 1847 in Milan,  Died: , 1931 in West Orange,  Best known for: Inventing many useful items including the and a practical light bulb

Biography:

Thomas Edison may be the greatest inventor in history. He has over 1000 patents in his name. Many of his still have a major effect on our lives today. He was also a business entrepreneur. Several of his inventions were group efforts in his large laboratory where he had lots of people working for him to help develop, build, and test his inventions. Edison used his inventions to form companies including , which is one of the biggest corporations in the world today.

Where did Edison grow up?

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11, 1847. His family soon moved to Port Huron, where he spent most of his childhood. Surprisingly, he did not Thomas Edison https://www.ducksters.com/biography/thomas_edison.php do well in school and ended up being home schooled by his mother. Thomas was an enterprising young man, selling vegetables, candy and newspapers on trains. One day he saved a child from a runaway train. The child's father repaid Edison by training him as a telegraph operator. As a telegraph operator, Thomas became interested in communications, which would be the focus of many of his inventions.

Edison and Phonograph by Levin C. Handy

What was Menlo Park?

Menlo Park, New Jersey is where Thomas Edison built his research labs. This was the first business or institution with the sole purpose of inventing. They would do research and science and then apply it to practical applications that could be manufactured and built on a large scale. There were a lot of employees working for Edison at Menlo Park. These workers were inventors, too, and did a lot of work on Edison's ideas to help turn them into inventions. Thomas Edison https://www.ducksters.com/biography/thomas_edison.php

Light Bulb Patent Application by Thomas Edison

What are Thomas Edison's most famous inventions?

Thomas Edison has the patents and credits for many inventions. Three of his most famous include:

The Phonograph - This was the first major invention by Edison and made him famous. It was the first machine that was able to record and playback sound.

Light Bulb - Although he did not invent the first , Edison made the first practical electric light bulb that could be manufactured and used in the home. He also invented other items that were needed to make the light bulb practical for use in homes including safety fuses and on/off switches for light sockets.

The Motion Picture - Edison did a lot of work in creating the motion picture camera and helping move forward the progress of practical movies.

Thomas Edison https://www.ducksters.com/biography/thomas_edison.php Fun Facts About Thomas Edison

 His middle name was Alva and his family called him Al.  His first two kids had the nicknames Dot and Dash.  He set up his first lab in his parent's basement at the age of 10.  He was partially deaf.  His first invention was an electric vote recorder.  His 1093 patents are the most on record.  He said the words to "Mary had a little lamb" as the first recorded voice on the phonograph.

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Test Quiz

Questions on this quiz are based on information from Thomas Edison.

1. Where was Thomas Edison born? a. Illinois b. Wisconsin c. New Jersey d. Ohio e. New York

2. What did Thomas Edison do in order to be rewarded with training to be a telegraph operator? a. He invented the telegraph b. He saved a child from a runaway train c. He passed a very difficult test on d. He was an excellent student in school e. He won an archery contest Thomas Edison https://www.ducksters.com/biography/thomas_edison.php

3. Which of the following major corporations was founded by Thomas Edison? a. General Motors b. Apple c. Microsoft d. Amazon e. General Electric

4. Where did Thomas Edison build his famous research labs? a. Menlo Park, New Jersey b. New York City, New York c. Chicago, Illinois d. Pontiac, Michigan e. Baltimore, Maryland

5. True or False: Thomas Edison liked to work alone and created all his inventions by himself. a. TRUE b. FALSE

6. What was the phonograph? a. A way of sending messages down an electrical wire b. A machine used to record moving pictures c. A machine that could record and playback sound d. The first digital camera e. A first cellular

7. What was Thomas Edison's Middle name? a. Edward b. James c. George d. Alva e. He didn't have a middle name

8. True or False: Thomas Edison had over 1000 patents to his name. a. TRUE b. FALSE

Thomas Edison https://www.ducksters.com/biography/thomas_edison.php 9. Which of the following inventions is credited to Thomas Edison? a. The practical electric light bulb b. The c. The transistor d. The e. The atomic bomb

10. What were the first words recorded on the phonograph? a. Mr. Watson come here, I want to see you. b. Hello, can anyone hear me? c. Mary had a little lamb d. This is a test, this is only a test. e. The alphabet