A short but decent biography of thomas edison. 3pgs

Essay by juggy426Junior High, 9th gradeA+, December 2003

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Thomas Alva Edison, or Al as he was often called, was a great man.

His inventions are so popular and commonplace that today that we often take them

for granted. He has helped us in many ways and that's what makes him a hero.

Tom was born on February 11, 1847. From the very start of his life he had

problems. He often got into trouble because he was so curious about things. One

time he set his fathers barn on fire. "He said he made a small fire in it just to see

what it would do" ( Josephson , 13). The fire quickly spread and burnt the barn

down. To punish him for this his father spanked him in the town square right in

front of everyone. Also his curiosity made people think things about him that

weren't true. He was always asking questions. People thought he was stupid and

even retarded.

He had trouble in school so his mom took him out and homeschooled

him. Tom liked to read books. The books he read were very advanced for his age

and he read one after the other. Pretty soon he got to the point were he could teach

himself. It is said that he checked out every single book in the library. He liked to

tinker around with chemicals. He had a lab in the basement. Almost all his free time

was spent there because he had hardly any friends. When he was a little bit older he

got a job working at the train station. He sold all sorts of various things to the

passengers. One day one of the conductors sons was playing on the tracks and a

train was coming towards him. Tom grabbed him and brought him back to safety.

Although the...