Without a doubt, our lives would be completely different without the inventions of Thomas Edison. This amazing creator has changed our culture in countless ways. Edison was born in the USA, in Ohio in 1847, and he received his first patent at the age of 22. The last patent in his name was issued two years after his death in 1933. Throughout his life, he received 1,033 patents in the United States alone and 1,200 patents in other countries. Biographers estimate that, on average, Edison received a new patent every two weeks of his working life. Although many of his inventions were not unique, and he often sued other inventors from whom he "borrowed" ideas, his marketing skills and his influence often helped him.
Most of Edison's inventions fall into eight categories: batteries, electric lighting, phonographs and sound recording, cement, mining, moving pictures (movies), telegraphs, and telephones. However, although he is remembered for his major inventions - the motion picture, the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph, his tireless imagination produced several other ideas that are not so well known and which were not welcomed by the public.
10. Electrographic voting recorder
Edison was a 22-year-old telegraph operator when he received his first patent for a machine he called an electrographic voting recorder. He was one of several inventors during the development of methods to improve the functioning of legislative bodies, such as the US Congress, who tried to improve the process of counting the votes of congressmen on a given bill.
In Edison's recorder, a device was connected to each employee's desk. On the table was a sign with the name of each legislator, and two metal columns with the inscriptions "yes" and "no". Congressmen turned on the device by moving the handle in the appropriate direction (yes or no), thereby sending an electrical signal to the desk clerk, who spoke about their opinion. After voting was completed, the clerk placed a sheet of paper treated with a special chemical solution on top of the metal device and pressed it with a roller. Then all the pros and cons were revealed on paper, and the votes were counted without delay.
Edison's friend, another telegraph operator named Dewitt Roberts, showed interest in Thomas' apparatus, bought it for $100 and took it to Washington. However, Congress was reluctant to adopt any device that could speed up the voting process, since it would eliminate time for political manipulation. Thus, this Edison device was consigned to the political graveyard.
9. Pneumatic stencil pen
Edison invented the prototype of a device that is currently used to make tattoos - a pneumatic stencil pen. This machine, which Edison patented in 1876, used a steel tip to perforate paper for the printing process. This invention was important in its own right as one of the first devices that could effectively copy documents.
In 1891, tattoo artist Samuel O'Reilly received the first patent for a tattoo machine, a device that was allegedly based on Edison's invention. O'Reilly appears to have made only one machine for his own personal use, since no records of the marketing system survive.
O'Reilly immigrated to New York from Ireland in 1875. After he created his machine, a lot of people began to visit his shop, since the process of tattooing was much faster with the help of the machine. After O'Reilly's death in 1908 , one student took possession of his machine and continued to work with it until the 1950s.
8. Magnetic iron ore separator
Probably one of Edison's biggest financial failures was the magnetic iron ore separator. The idea that Edison experimented with in his laboratory in the 1880s and 1890s was to use magnets to separate iron ore from unusable low-grade ores. This meant that abandoned mines could be very profitable, since ore could still be extracted from them, since at that time, the price of iron ore had risen very much.
Edison's laboratory was busy creating the separator and putting it into practice. Thomas acquired the rights to 145 abandoned mines and created a pilot project at the Ogden Mine in New Jersey. Edison invested a lot of money in the implementation of his idea. However, technical problems were never resolved and iron ore prices fell, eventually Edison had to abandon this idea.
7. Electric meter
All sorts of questions begin to arise when you do something that no one has done before, such as controlling an electrical device that calculates the energy consumption of businesses and homes. You need a way to know how much energy is being consumed in order to bill accordingly.
Edison solved this problem by patenting his device, the webermeter, in 1881. It contained two or four electrolytic cells with zinc-coated electrodes. The zinc electrodes transmitted information to each other at a certain rate when electricity was used. However, the zinc electrodes had to be replaced with new ones after each reading of the amount of energy consumed.
6. Fruit preservation method
Another invention of Edison saw the light of day while experimenting with glass vacuum tubes during the development of incandescent lamps. In 1881, Edison applied for a patent for storing fruits, vegetables and other organic products in glassware. The essence of his idea was that air was sucked out of the container in which fruits and vegetables were stored using a special pump through a special glass tube that was attached to the container.
Another invention related to food products, wax paper, is also credited to Edison, however, it was created in France in 1851, when Edison was still just a child. The inventor used wax paper in his work on a sound recording device, which is probably where this kind of speculation originated.
5. Electric car
Edison believed that cars would be powered by electricity, and in 1899 he began developing an alkaline battery that he believed would power them. As a result, by 1900, about 28 percent of the more than 4,000 automobiles produced in America were powered by electricity. His goal was to create a battery that could drive a car 100 miles on a single charge. Edison abandoned his idea 10 years later, because gasoline appeared, which was much more profitable to use.
However, Edison's work was not in vain - rechargeable batteries became his most profitable invention and were used in miners' helmets, railway signals, etc. His friend Henry Ford also used Edison's batteries in his Model Ts automobile.
4. Concrete house
Not content with the fact that he had already improved the lives of the average American by creating electric lighting, films and phonographs, Edison decided in the early 20th century that the time of urban slums was over, and every working person's family should have a strong fireproof home that could be built according to relatively inexpensive prices and in bulk. What will these houses be made of? Concrete, of course, a material from the Edison Cement Company in Portland. Edison emphasized, recalling his working-class upbringing, that if something worthwhile came out of his idea, he would not even think about profiting from it.
Edison's plan involved pouring concrete into large wooden beams of specific shapes and sizes. As a result, we got a separate house, with pipeline system, bath and many other benefits, which sold for $1,200, which was about a third of what people had to shell out to buy a house at the time.
But despite Edison's cement being used in the construction of many structures around New York City during the building boom of the early 1900s, concrete homes never caught on. The molds and special equipment needed to build houses required large financial resources, and only a few construction companies could afford it. However, there was another problem: few families wanted to move into houses that were advertised as new housing for those living in the slums. Another reason: the houses were simply ugly. In 1917, 11 such houses were built, but they were not well received and understood, so no more such houses were built.
3. Concrete furniture
Why should a young couple go into debt to buy furniture that will only last them a few decades? Edison offered to fill the house with timeless concrete furniture for half the price. Edison's concrete furniture, covered with a special air-filled foam and capable of supporting several times the weight of wooden furniture, had to be carefully sanded and painted or trimmed with mirrors. He claimed that he could furnish an entire house for less than $200.
In 1911, Edison's company allegedly produced several pieces of furniture to be exhibited in New York at the annual cement industry show, but Edison did not appear, and neither did his furniture. It is suspected that the cabinets did not survive the journey.
2. Phonograph for dolls and other toys
Once Edison patented his phonograph, he began to develop ways to use it. One idea, first proposed in 1877 but not patented until 1890, was to miniaturize the phonograph for dolls or other toys, giving a previously voiceless creature a voice. The phonograph was placed in the body of a doll, which from the outside looked like an ordinary doll, but now cost $10. Little girls wrote down nursery rhymes and songs, which then formed the basis of what the doll said or sang.
Unfortunately, the idea of a talking doll was far ahead of the technologies needed to implement it on the market at that time. Sound recording was in its infancy, so when the cute dolls spoke in hissing and whistling voices, it looked very awkward. “The voices of these little monsters are very unpleasant to listen to,” said one of the clients. Most of the dolls barely played or played too weakly to be heard. And the mere fact that this thing was intended for a child to play with already indicated that it obviously would not receive the delicate treatment that the phonograph required.
1. Brass telephone
Coming to the idea of the telephone and telegraph a little later, Edison announced in October 1920 that he was working on a machine that would take communication to new level. In the aftermath of the First World War, spiritualism experienced a revival, and many people hoped that science could provide a way to contact the souls of the recently deceased. The inventor, who considered himself an agnostic, which implies a lack of belief in the existence of the spiritual world, spoke of his desire to create a machine that would read, in his words, “vital units” with which the Universe is filled after the death of people.
Edison communicated with the British inventor Sir William Cooke, who claimed that he was able to capture spirits in photographs. These photographs allegedly inspired Edison, however, he never presented to the general public any machine that he said could communicate with the dead, and even after his death in 1931, no machine was found. Many people believe that they were just joking with reporters when they talked about their "spirit phone."
Some Edison followers claim that during a session with the spirit of the inventor in 1941, he told them the secret and plan for building the machine. The machine was reportedly built but never worked. Later, in another session, Edison allegedly suggested making some changes and improvements. Inventor J. Gilbert Wright attended the session and later worked on the machine until his death in 1959, but as far as is known he never used it to communicate with spirits.
Thomas Edison short biography presented in this article.
Thomas Edison short biography
Thomas Alva Edison- American inventor who received 1093 patents in the USA and about 3 thousand in other countries; creator of the phonograph; improved the telegraph, telephone, cinema equipment, developed one of the first commercially successful versions of the incandescent electric lamp. It was he who suggested using the word “hello” at the beginning of a telephone conversation.
Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milen, Ohio, into a family of carpentry store owners. When he was 7 years old, the family went bankrupt and moved to Michigan.
Little Thomas was completely fascinated by learning. He was especially interested in various experiments, and at the age of 10 he set up his own laboratory at home. The experiments required money, so at the age of 12 he got a job as a railway newspaperman. Over time, his laboratory is moved to the baggage car of a train, where he continues to conduct experiments. In 1863, he became interested in telegraphy, and over the next five years he worked as a telegraph operator. At this job he used his first invention - a telegraph answering machine, allowing young Thomas to sleep at night; At the age of 22 he founded his own company selling household electrical appliances.
Edison patented his first invention in 1869. It was an electronic recorder of votes during elections. There were no buyers for this patent. However, for the invention of the stock ticker (a telephone device that transmits stock quotes) in 1870, he received 40 thousand dollars. With the proceeds, he opened a workshop in New Jersey and began producing tickers. In 1873, Edison discovered duplex and then four-way telegraphy. In 1876 he created a new and improved laboratory for commercial purposes. This type of industrial laboratory is also considered to be Edison's invention. The carbon telephone microphone was invented here in the late 1870s. Next product laboratory became phonograph. At the same time, the scientist began to work hard on the implementation of his most important invention - incandescent lamps.
In 1882, Edison's first power plant was opened in New York. Moreover, he seriously thought about merging his companies into a single concern. In 1892, he managed to annex his largest rival in the field of electricity, forming the world's largest industrial concern, the General Electric Company. During his life, Edison was married twice and had three children from each marriage. The scientist’s deafness progressed due to scarlet fever suffered in childhood.
There are different stories about Thomas Edison. His life is so extraordinary and bizarre, and his genius is so tireless and practical that the biography of this man always presents something new.
Almost everyone knows about this prolific inventor. Everyone has heard the concept of "Edison's light bulb." This is Thomas Alva Edison, who recently celebrated his 170th birthday. The personality is gifted and contradictory. There are many legends and myths about him.
About Edison"He's actually one of the least famous of all famous people, and much of what everyone thinks about him is no more reliable than a fairy tale" (historian Keith Nier).
For many Americans, Thomas Edison, whose biography is full of unexpected twists of fate, will forever remain a real embodiment American dream, the most good luck and respectability. We use telephones and mail, ride trains, listen to music, and we owe it to him. 1093 patented inventions, and according to unofficial data - almost three thousand. A great inventor, talented and successful with an extraordinary biography. And this person was called “limited”!?
Comes from childhood
We travel back to 1847 to the bustling port of Milan, Ohio. Here, on February 11, a child, the seventh in a row, was born into the family of a political emigrant from Canada and his wife. Named Thomas. By the way, his three older sisters and brothers did not live to be 10 years old.
Little Al didn't speak until he was almost four years old. But as soon as we started, there was no way for adults. I had to explain to the inquisitive boy the workings of everything he had to deal with. No one could refuse. Another question would follow: “Why?”
When Thomas was 7, the family settled in the town of Port Huron in Michigan. It is known that the boy had a wide forehead and a head much larger than that of children of his age.
He started going to primary school, but after three months he continued his education at home.
Set forth different versions, Why did it happen so:
- The teacher did not like his persistent interrogations too much. He considered the student hyperactive and his brain “complicated.” And when the teacher spoke rudely about Thomas, calling him a “stupid,” the boy left school.
- Mom read aloud the teacher’s letter that her son was a genius, and school was not able to teach him anything, so it was better to teach him at home. They say that Edison found the letter after his mother’s death. And its content was different: “Your son is mentally retarded...”, and further that they cannot teach him at school, he must be taught at home. One of the greatest inventors of the century cried like a child. IN personal diary the entry appeared: “Thomas Alva Edison was mentally retarded child. Thanks to his heroic mother, he became one of greatest geniuses of his century."
- And November 29, 1907 literary magazine T.P's Weekly published an interview with Thomas Edison, telling another version of this story, refuting the previous ones. The boy himself accidentally heard the words of the teacher and learned that they no longer wanted to keep him at school. He creates problems. He ran to his mother in tears and looked for she had protection. She told the teacher that her son was much smarter than the teacher himself, took the child from school and herself, being a teacher by training, began to teach him. Tom decided that he must become worthy of her trust and show that faith in her son is not in vain .
Nancy Edison is the godly and attractive daughter of respected Presbyterian minister and accomplished educator Elliot. She always believed in the child's abilities. Unusual behavior son, appearance for her they served exclusively as signs of an outstanding mind. Tom loved his mother and always said that she made him. He mastered reading, writing and arithmetic with her. He didn't want to disappoint her.
Samuel Edison, a rather worldly man, encouraged his son to read the great classics, rewarding him with 10 cents for each book he read. This endeavor bore fruit after a while. Thomas's interest in world history and English literature turned out to be very deep. And his special love for Shakespeare even inspired him to try to become an actor. But either the voice was too high, or shyness played a role, but the young man refused this idea. It will be later. In the meantime...
The boy loved to read and make crafts. The appetite for knowledge grew so much that parents had to resort to the help of the local library. Starting with the last book on the shelf, he read everything without understanding it. My parents managed to stop the disorderly reading in time, and thanks to them, my hobby became more selective. Reading could not satisfy his ever-increasing interest in science, and his parents were unable to explain to him questions related to physics or mathematics.
At the age of ten, he opened a list of inventions, which included a sawmill and a railroad that he made. His first own laboratory began work. He conducted chemical experiments here - another hobby.
Young entrepreneur
The boy always had pocket money - his relatives did not skimp. Only experiments and numerous experiments required additional funds.
Inventions of Thomas Edison
Let's start, perhaps, with the well-known “Edison light bulb”. You may have heard negative answers to the question of whether Edison invented the first light bulb. Attempts to illuminate the world using electricity were made half a century before Edison. The work was carried out with arc lighting, bright enough to illuminate the street, and with an incandescent lamp, which is better used indoors. Charles Kist began working on arc lighting in 1877. Two years later, Edison noted breakthroughs with incandescent lamps:
- His light bulb could burn for a long time and illuminate the house for many hours.
- He invented an electrical power system that brought electricity into the house with dynamos, wires, fuses and switches.
But out of more than a thousand patents received, the very first - for the invention of an electric vote recorder during voting - was received by him in 1869. Members Legislative Assembly Massachusetts refused to buy it, and even denigrated it in every possible way, citing the fact that the machine was capable of disrupting the political “status quo.” For Thomas this was a disappointment. But he learned for himself main lesson: Don't waste your time on things that people don't want and won't buy.
But the invention of the stock ticker for transmitting stock quotes at the end of 1870 was received with a bang and brought the inventor 40 thousand dollars. He organized their production in a workshop created with this money in New Jersey (Newark).
In 1876, his laboratory appeared in Mentlo Park, well equipped, with a fully staffed staff, suitable for testing, inventing and improving various technical products. The Menlopark Laboratory is considered a real prototype of current research institutes and industrial laboratories. Some even consider this invention of Edison's greatest. And his first product was a carbon telephone microphone, which significantly increased the volume and clarity of the Bell telephone.
But first successful invention, Edison called the phonograph his favorite. He stated this repeatedly. The creator worked on it for more than half a century. Since its first appearance in 1877, he has made many improvements to his “child.”
But industrial electric lighting is considered the best invention of the genius. In the electrical distribution system he created, the lamps worked together and economically. Thousands of experiments - and the result is a lamp with a carbon filament that can burn for 40 hours. The year 1882 is called the beginning of the lighting industry in the States; the first central power plant opened in New York.
The Edison General Electric Company was organized to manufacture lamps and lighting system equipment, so that in 1892, after merging with its largest rival, the Thomson Houston Electric Company, the world's largest industrial concern appeared. joint-stock company General Electric Company, which today is one of the ten most valuable companies in the world.
Edison also owned the discovery of thermionic emission - this is already “pure” science (1883). It was called the Edison effect and was later used in detecting radio waves.
Life lessons“Many of life’s failures are experienced by people who didn’t realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
It sounds strange, but if you look at it realistically, Thomas Alva Edison did not invent anything new. The telephone and telegraph were invented before him. But he significantly improved the technology, bringing it closer to the consumer. This brilliant inventor worked with many fundamental discoveries, and, I must say, did a great job. A record number for one person - 1093 American patents for inventions, hundreds - patents from France, Great Britain, Germany, etc.
Life lessons“If I come across something, I immediately look for a way to improve it.”
Hearing
Deafness turned out to be a factor that shaped the personality of the inventor, but it is difficult to judge whether it was negative or positive.
According to Edison, everything happened due to scarlet fever suffered in childhood. He was absolutely not deaf. I just heard very poorly. I haven’t heard birds singing since I was twelve – these are Thomas’s words. He also told another story: he was hit in the ear by a conductor for experiments with phosphorus that ended in an explosion in a local depot car. It is hardly possible to name the exact cause of hearing loss.
He was constantly looking for a way to compensate. He acquired knowledge in a rather individualistic style. In the most difficult cases, he showed a mind like a kaleidoscope, a legendary memory, patience and dexterity. And any experiments were carried out that made it possible to put forward and substantiate their own theories.
Life lessons“One day man will harness the rise and fall of the tides, harness the power of the sun, and unleash atomic energy.”
About personal life
In many things this greatest mind remained a typical man victorian era with very specific tastes. Exclusively thanks to his desire to create something new, he was reliably protected from women. The only one who dominated his heart was his mother.
Having married Mary Stilwell, he soon discovered that his wife was not a partner in his affairs, which made him quite upset. From the marriage a daughter and two sons were born. Mary died early, in 1884. A brain tumor. With his second wife, they gave birth to three more.
A man who spent his whole life in search, in discoveries, in new plans, by the end of the 20s his pace had noticeably slowed down. He received the last 1093rd patent at the age of 83, almost without leaving home, and worked there. Before last day Edison remained surrounded by associates and friends. The names of many and success stories are known to everyone: Charles Lindbergh, Marie Curie, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover.
On the evening of October 18, 1931, Thomas Edison passed away in West Orange, New Jersey. Many people around the world briefly turned off their power in honor of this man.
Life lessons"I want to save and promote human life, and not destroy it... I am proud of the fact that I never invented a weapon for killing."
He was not flawless, much of what was said about him was in fact only myths, but it was a rare person who served humanity so selflessly, worked with such tenacity and did more to make dreams and fantasies become reality.
Last lesson life"If afterlife yes - great. If not, well, that’s also good. I lived my life with pleasure and did everything I could.”
Amazing facts from life
The Menlo-Patka laboratory, the first scientific center in human history, had workshops and libraries. Thousands of workers worked here. Drawings and details were replaced by sandwiches and soda, Edison sat down at the organ, and then everyone relaxed. And then again - for wear and tear. All over the world we have heard about a special questionnaire that the inventor came up with for job seekers. He wanted talented enthusiasts and originalists to work in his laboratory. He may well have preferred an imaginative amateur to a certified specialist.
About Edison"One of Edison's greatest talents was his ability to assemble teams and create organizational structure, which contributed to the creativity of many people." (historian Greg Field)
Obstacles never stopped this man. Once, when his next invention - a printing machine - was failing, he worked continuously in the attic of the factory for 60 hours until it worked properly. After that he slept for 30 hours.
Life lessons“Invention is ninety percent sweat and one percent inspiration.”
there will be other lessons from the great inventor.
He is called differently: a “patent thief”, a deceiver of geniuses, in modern terms - a “producer from science”, an occultist, a self-taught genius, an enthusiast who did not value money, and this list can be added to for a long time. At the same time, he was an honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, winner of the highest US award - the Congressional Gold Medal, and, according to the New York Table, the greatest living American.
It's hard to believe that Thomas Edison, who patented more than two thousand different inventions throughout his life, didn't even finish primary school. And all because the teachers were angry with the boy’s constant questions “Why?” - and he was kicked home with a note to his parents, informing them that their son was simply “limited.” My mother made a scandal about this at school, but educational institution She took the boy and gave him his first education at home.
Already at the age of nine, Thomas read his first scientific book, “Natural and Experimental Philosophy,” written by Richard Greene Parker, which talked about almost all the scientific and technological inventions of that time. Moreover, the book interested the boy so much that over time he carried out absolutely all the experiments described in it on his own.
Over the course of his entire life (Edison lived for 84 years), he patented 1,093 devices in America alone. Among them are a phonograph, a telephone, an electric voting machine, a pneumatic stencil pen, even an electric meter and batteries for an electric car. True, it should be noted that in fact most of his discoveries were not unique and therefore he was constantly suing various inventors. The only creation that belonged one hundred percent to him was the phonograph, since no one had simply worked in this direction before him.
Naturally, the first phonographs were no different high quality The recordings and the sounds they made did not really resemble the human voice, but everyone who heard it was delighted. Moreover, Edison himself considered his invention a toy, not suitable for serious use in practice. True, he tried to make talking dolls with his help, but the sounds they made frightened the children so much that he had to abandon the idea.
Thomas Edison's inventions are so numerous that they can be divided into the following areas:
- Electric lamps and power supply for them;
- Batteries – Edison created batteries for electric vehicles, which later turned out to be his most profitable invention;
- Records and sound recording;
- Cement - the inventor was fond of developing concrete houses and furniture - one of his most disastrous projects, which brought him absolutely no profit;
- Mining;
- Cinema - for example, a kinetoscope - a camera for reproducing moving pictures;
- Telegraph - improved the stock exchange telegraph apparatus;
- Telephone - adding a carbon microphone and an induction coil to the invention of his competitor Bell, Edison proved to the patent office that his device was an original design. Moreover, it should be noted that such an improvement in the phone brought him 300 thousand dollars.
Edison iron-nickel battery
Electric lamps
In our time, Thomas Edison is known mainly for the invention of electric lamps. Actually this is not true. The Englishman Humphrey Devy created the prototype of the light bulb seventy years before him. Edison's merit lies in the fact that he came up with a standard base and improved the spiral in the lamp, thanks to which it began to last much longer.
As we can see, Edison’s light bulb is far from the first
In addition, in this case, it is necessary to note the entrepreneurial spirit of the American. For example, the Russian economist Yasin compared Edison's actions with Yablochkov, who invented the light bulb almost simultaneously with him. The first one found the money, built a power plant, illuminated two blocks and eventually brought everything to marketable condition, while independently inventing a transformer and the equipment necessary for the system. And Yablochkov put his development on the shelf.
Deadly inventions of Thomas Edison
Not everyone knows that at least two of Edison’s inventions turned out to be fatal. He is considered the creator of the first electric chair. True, the first victim of this invention was an enraged elephant who killed three people.
Another of his developments directly entailed human death. After opening x-rays, Edison tasked employee Clarence Delli with developing a fluoroscopy device. Since no one knew then how harmful these rays were, the employee did tests on his own hands. After which, first one arm was amputated, then the other, and then his condition worsened even more and as a result he died of cancer. After this, Edison got scared and stopped working on the device.
Edison's principles at work
Unlike many fellow inventors, fame and wealth came to Thomas Edison during his lifetime. His biographers claim that this happened due to the fact that in his work he was guided by the following principles:- Never forget the entrepreneurial side of things. Having experienced firsthand what it was like to engage in projects that did not promise commercial gain (for example, the development of houses and furniture made of concrete), he came to the conclusion that every invention should bring money;
- To achieve success, you must use all available means. Edison easily used the developments of other researchers in his activities, using “black PR” against competitors;
- Skillfully chose employees - they were mostly young talented people, while the American parted with those disloyal to him without regrets;
- Work comes first. Even after becoming rich, Edison did not stop working;
- Don't give up in the face of difficulties. Many scientists of that time laughed at his undertakings, knowing that they contradicted the scientific laws known to them. Edison, on the other hand, did not have a serious education, therefore, when making new discoveries, he often did not even know that in theory it was impossible to make them.
Name: Thomas Edison
Age: 84 years old
Height: 178
Activity: inventor, entrepreneur, engineer
Family status: was married
Thomas Edison: biography
The world knows Thomas Edison as the inventor who managed to improve the electric light bulb, as well as the author of the phonograph, the electric chair and the telephone greeting. However, unlike many geniuses, the man had a brilliant talent for entrepreneurship.
Childhood and youth
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in the American town of Mailen, into a family of immigrants from Holland. Al, as the future inventor was called in childhood, was not distinguished by great health - short, frail (although in childhood photos Thomas looks well-fed). In addition, the scarlet fever he suffered affected his hearing - the boy became deaf in his left ear. The parents surrounded their son with care, because they had previously lost two children.
Thomas did not manage to settle down at school; the teachers were enough for a “limited” child for three months, after which his parents took him out of the educational institution with a scandal and sent him to home schooling. Edison was introduced to the basics of school science by his mother, Nancy Eliot, the daughter of a priest with an excellent upbringing and education.
Thomas grew up as an inquisitive child, keenly interested in what was happening around him - he loved to look at steamships, and often hung around carpenters, watching their work. Another unusual activity to which he devoted hours was copying inscriptions on warehouse signs.
When the Edisons moved to Porto Huron, seven-year-old Thomas became acquainted with the fascinating world of reading and tried his hand at invention for the first time. At that time, the boy and his mother were selling fruits and vegetables, and in free time ran to the town's People's Library for books.
By the age of 12, the teenager became acquainted with the works of Edward Gibbon, David Hume, Richard Burton, but the first scientific book was read and put into practice at the age of 9. Natural and Experimental Philosophy by Richard Greene Parker brought together scientific and technological advances and examples of experiments, which Thomas repeated.
Chemical experiments demanded investments in the hope of earning more money young Edison got a job as a newspaper seller at a railway station. To a young man they even allowed him to set up a laboratory in the baggage car of the train, where he conducted experiments. However, not for long - because of the fire, Thomas was expelled along with the laboratory.
While working at the station, an event occurred that helped enrich work history novice inventor. Edison saved the station master's son from death under the wheels of a moving carriage, for which he received the position of telegraph operator, where he worked for several years.
At the end of his youth, Thomas wandered around America in search of a place in life: he lived in Indianapolis, Nashville, Cincinnati, returned to his home state, but in 1868 he ended up in Boston, and then in New York. All this time I barely made ends meet, because I spent the lion's share of my income on books and experiments.
Inventions
The secret of the great self-taught inventor is simple and lies in a quote from Thomas Edison himself, which over time became a catchphrase:
“Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
He proved the truth of the statement more than once, spending days and nights in laboratories. As he himself admitted, he was sometimes so carried away that he spent up to 19 hours a day working. Edison has 1093 patents received in the United States and 3 thousand documents on the authorship of inventions issued in other countries. At the same time, they did not buy the first creations from the man. For example, compatriots considered the vote counter in elections useless.
Luck smiled during the period of work at the Gold and Stock Telegraph Company. Thomas got a job thanks to the fact that he repaired the telegraph apparatus - no one could cope with this task, even invited craftsmen. And in 1870, the company happily bought out the system he had improved for telegraphing exchange bulletins about gold and stock prices. The inventor spent the money on opening his own workshop for the production of tickers for stock exchanges; a year later, Edison already owned three such workshops.
Soon things went even better. Thomas founded the company "Pope, Edison & Co", the next five years were fruitful, in particular, the appearance greatest invention- quadruplex telegraph, with the help of which it became possible to transmit up to four messages simultaneously over one wire. Inventive activity required a well-equipped laboratory, and in 1876, near New York, in the town of Menlo Park, the construction of an industrial complex for scientific research work began. The laboratory later brought together hundreds of bright heads and skillful hands.
Attempts to convert telegraph messages into sound resulted in the advent of the phonograph. In 1877, Edison recorded the children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb" using a needle and tinfoil. The innovation was considered borderline fantastic, and Thomas received the nickname The Wizard of Menlo Park.
Two years later, the world accepted the most famous invention Thomas Edison - he managed to improve the light bulb, extending its operating time and simplifying production. Existing lamps burned out after a couple of hours, consumed a lot of current, or were expensive. Edison declared that soon all of New York would be illuminated by fireproof light bulbs, and the price of electricity would become affordable, and began an experiment. For the filament, I tried 6,000 materials and finally settled on carbon fiber, which burned for 13.5 hours. Later the service life increased to 1200 hours.
Thomas Edison and his light bulb Edison demonstrated the possibility of using light bulbs, as well as the developed system for producing and consuming electricity, by creating a power plant in one of the New York districts: 400 light bulbs flashed. The number of electricity consumers increased from 59 to half a thousand over several months.
In 1882, the “War of Currents” broke out and lasted until the beginning of the second millennium. Edison favored the use of direct current, which, however, was transmitted without loss only over short distances. , who joined Thomas's laboratory, tried to prove that alternating current was more efficient - it was transmitted over hundreds of kilometers. The future legendary inventor proposed using it for power plants and generators, but found no support.
Tesla, at the request of the owner, created 24 alternating current machines, but did not receive the promised 50 thousand dollars for the work from Edison, was offended and became a competitor. Together with industrialist George Westinghouse, Nikola began to introduce alternating current everywhere. Thomas sued and even conducted black PR campaigns, using the killing of animals to prove the dangers of this type of current. The apogee was the invention of the electric chair for executing criminals.
The war ended only in 2007: the chief engineer of the Consolidate Edison company ceremoniously cut the last cable through which direct current was supplied to New York.
The prolific inventor also patented an X-ray device, calling it a fluoroscope, and a carbon microphone that increased the volume of telephone communications. In 1887, Thomas Edison built in West Orange new laboratory, larger than before and equipped with last word technology. A voice recorder and an alkaline battery appeared here.
Edison also left a mark on the history of cinematography. In Thomas's laboratory, the kinetoscope, a device capable of showing moving images, saw the light of day. In essence, the invention was a personal cinema - a person watched a film through a special eyepiece. A little later, Edison opened the Kinetoscope Parlor hall and equipped it with ten boxes.
Personal life
Thomas’s personal life also turned out well - he managed to get married twice and have six children. The inventor almost walked down the aisle with his first wife, telegraph operator Mary Stillwell, two months after they met. However, the wedding had to be postponed due to the death of Edison's mother. The wedding took place in December 1871. A funny event is connected with the celebration: Thomas immediately after the festivities went to work and forgot about the wedding night.
This union produced a daughter and two sons, the eldest children - Marriott and Thomas - with light hand Father's house nicknames were Dot and Dash, in honor of Morse code. Mary died at age 29 from a brain tumor.
Soon Edison married again, according to historians, out of great love. The chosen one was 20-year-old Mina Miller, whom the inventor taught Morse code, and even proposed marriage in this language. Edison also had two sons and a daughter from Mina - the only heiress who gave her father grandchildren.
Death
The great inventor did not live to see his 85th birthday for four months, but he carried on business until the last. Thomas Edison suffered diabetes mellitus, terrible disease gave complications incompatible with life.
He died in the fall of 1931, in a house in the town of West Orange, which he bought 45 years ago as a gift to his bride, his future wife Mina Miller. Edison's grave is located in the backyard of this house.
- Edison is credited with inventing the simplest tattoo machine. The reason was five points on Thomas's left forearm, and then the Stencil-Pens engraving device, which was patented in 1876. However, Samuel O'Reilly is considered the father of the tattoo machine.
- The inventor is responsible for the death of the elephant Topsy. Three people died due to the animal's fault, so they decided to kill it. In the hope of winning the “war of currents,” Edison proposed executing the elephant with an alternating current of 6000 volts, and recorded the “performance” on film.
- The biography of the American genius includes a failed project, for the implementation of which they even built an entire plant to extract iron from low-grade ore. Compatriots laughed at the inventor, arguing that it was easier and cheaper to invest money in ore deposits. And they turned out to be right.
- In 1911, Edison built an uninhabitable house consisting of concrete, including window sills and electrical pipes. At the same time, the man tried himself as a furniture designer, presenting concrete interior items to future buyers. And again he failed.
- One of the wild ideas was the creation of a helicopter powered by gunpowder.
- The invention of the long-life lamp did humanity a disservice - people's sleep was reduced by 2 hours. By the way, when improving the light bulb, calculations took 40,000 pages of notebooks.
- The word "hello" starting phone conversation, is also Edison's idea.
Discoveries
- 1860 – aerophone
- 1868 – electric vote counter for elections
- 1869 – ticker machine
- 1870 – carbon telephone membrane
- 1873 – quadruplex telegraph
- 1876 – mimeograph
- 1877 – phonograph
- 1877 – carbon microphone
- 1879 – incandescent lamp with carbon filament
- 1880 – magnetic iron ore separator
- 1889 – kinetoscope
- 1889 – electric chair
- 1908 – iron-nickel battery
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