Thomas Alva Edison is the patron saint of electric light, electric power, and music-on-demand, the grandfather of the wired world, great-grandfather of iPod Nation. He pretty much flipped the switch. Before Edison, there was darkness. After him, media-saturated modernity.
On February 11, 1847 Thomas A. Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. In 1854 EdisonÃÂs family moved to Port Huron, Michigan. Edison worked on many different jobs such as The Grand Trunk Railway and Pope, Edison, and Company. Even as a child Edison was a good businessman which followed him into adulthood.
In 1869 Edison issued for his first patent and moved to New York City. In the next couple years he established his first manufacturing shop and built a famous laboratory in Menlo Park. In 1871 Edison married Mary Stilwell, one of the women that worked for him. Edison and Stilwell had three children: a girl, Marion, and two boys, Thomas Alva Jr.
English: Light bulb patent application. Photolitho...
Thomas Edison and his early phonograph. Cropped fr...
Young Thomas Edisonand William Leslie.
In the first six months of 1872 Edison registered for thirteen patents. Edison invented the quadreplex telegraph, the kinetescope, the phonograph (by mistake), the light bulb, helped improve the telephone, and experimented with movies. Edison had many different homes and many different laboratories. He also had cement and iron ore plants.
In 1854 EdisonÃÂs wife Mary died. Edison was grief stricken. Two years later he remarried to another female co-worker Mina miller. Edison and his new wife had three more children, Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore. In 1915 Edison served on the Naval Consulting Board for WWI. Edison said he would stop everything and serve his country if it came to war and he stayed true to his word. In 1928 Edison was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his work during the war. On October 18, 1931 Thomas Edison died as one...