Thomas Edison Biography, Early Life and Inventions.
                     Thomas Edison: Biography, Early Life 
and Inventions
Who Was Thomas Edison?
• Thomas Edison was an American 
inventor who is considered one of 
America's leading businessmen 
and innovators. 
• Edison rose from humble 
beginnings to work as an inventor 
of major technology, including the 
first commercially viable 
incandescent light bulb.
Source: www.biography.com
Early Life 
• Edison was born on February 11, 
1847, in Milan, Ohio. 
• He was the youngest of seven 
children of Samuel and Nancy 
Edison. 
• His father was an exiled political 
activist from Canada, while his 
mother was an accomplished 
schoolteacher and a major 
influence in Edison’s early life. 
Source: www.biography.com
Education
• In 1854, Edison’s family moved to 
Port Huron, Michigan, where he 
attended public school for a total 
of 12 weeks. 
• A hyperactive child, prone to 
distraction, he was deemed 
"difficult" by his teacher. 
Source: www.biography.com
Edison the Telegrapher
• While Edison worked for the 
railroad, a near-tragic event 
turned fortuitous for the young 
man. 
• After Edison saved a three-year-
old from being run over by an 
errant train, the child’s grateful 
father rewarded him by teaching 
him to operate a telegraph. 
Source: www.biography.com
Marriage
• In 1871 Edison married 16-year-
old Mary Stilwell, who was an 
employee at one of his 
businesses. 
• During their 13-year marriage, 
they had three children, Marion, 
Thomas and William, who himself 
became an inventor. 
Source: www.biography.com
Thomas Edison: Inventions
• In 1869, at 22 years old, Edison 
moved to New York City and 
developed his first invention, an 
improved stock ticker called the 
Universal Stock Printer, which 
synchronized several stock tickers' 
transactions. 
• The Gold and Stock Telegraph 
Company was so impressed, they 
paid him $40,000 for the rights. 
Source: www.biography.com
Thomas Edison: Inventions Cont.
• By the early 1870s, Edison had 
acquired a reputation as a first-
rate inventor. 
• In 1870, he set up his first small 
laboratory and manufacturing 
facility in Newark, New Jersey, and 
employed several machinists. 
Source: www.biography.com
Thomas Edison: An entrepreneur
• As an independent entrepreneur, 
Edison formed numerous 
partnerships and developed 
products for the highest bidder. 
• Often that was Western Union 
Telegraph Company, the industry 
leader, but just as often, it was 
one of Western Union's rivals. 
Source: www.biography.com
Phonograph
• In December 1877, Edison 
developed a method for recording 
sound: the phonograph. 
• His innovation relied upon tin-
coated cylinders with two needles: 
one for recording sound, and 
another for playback.
Source: www.biography.com
Light Bulb
• While Edison was not the inventor 
of the first light bulb, he came up 
with the technology that helped 
bring it to the masses. 
• Edison was driven to perfect a 
commercially practical, efficient 
incandescent light bulb following 
English inventor Humphry Davy’s 
invention of the first early electric 
arc lamp in the early 1800s. 
Source: www.biography.com
Motion Picture
• On April 23, 1896, Edison became 
the first person to project a motion 
picture, holding the world's first 
motion picture screening at Koster 
& Bial's Music Hall in New York 
City.
Source: www.biography.com
Death
• Edison died on October 18, 1931, 
from complications of diabetes in 
his home, Glenmont, in West 
Orange, New Jersey. He was 84 
years old. 
Source: www.biography.com