Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931) is an American inventor and one of the greatest inventors of all time. Edison began to work at an early age and continued to work right up until his death. Throughout his prolific career as an inventor, he was well known for his focus and determination. During his career Edison patented more than 1,000 inventions, including the electric light, the phonograph, and the motion-picture camera. These three inventions gave rise to giant industries—electric utilities, phonograph and record companies, and the film industry—thus changing the work and leisure habits of people throughout the world. The period from 1879 to 1900, when Edison produced and perfected most of his devices, has been called the Age of Edison.
Edison acquired his knowledge of electricity and telegraphy (use of a telegraph system to communicate at a distance) as a teenager. In 1868, at age 21, he developed a telegraphic vote-recording machine, the first of his inventions to be patented. The next year, Edison invented an improved version of the stock ticker, which printed stock market quotations and gold prices on a paper tape. Unlike older stock tickers, Edison's was fully automatic, and it did away with the need for a special attendant to operate each machine.
These early inventions brought Edison no financial returns. The first invention to bring him money was another improvement on the stock ticker. Edison created a central mechanism by which all the receiving tickers could be put in unison with the main sending apparatus. For this invention, Edison received $40,000, which would be worth $530,000 in 2000. He and a business partner, who operated a machine shop, used the money to start a new company to manufacture Edison’s improved stock ticker. For the next five years Edison spent up to 18 hours a day in his workshop in Newark, New Jersey, inventing and manufacturing a variety of electrical devices.
Edison didn't just invent the light bulb, he developed a system for lighting the entire world. If you are reading this article with the help of electrical illumination, it's worth remembering that it was Edison who made this possible. Edison's lighting system changed the world forever in a profoundly practical and profitable way. The light bulb is a universal symbol for "bright ideas," and "brilliance" and Edison is the extraordinary genius behind that icon. If the lighting system were his only success, Edison would be renowned as one of the great geniuses of all time. Amazingly, he also invented the phonograph and much of the technology for the development of moving pictures, thereby launching the modern entertainment industry. Edison generated a record 1,093 U.S. patents but his greatest invention of all was never patented. Edison's greatest invention was the creation of a systematic approach to innovation. Before Thomas Edison, invention was viewed as the random product of a solitary genius. Edison was, of course, an exceptional genius, but the greatest product of his genius was the establishment of an approach to creativity and innovation that he believed anyone could follow. As he proclaimed, "If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves."
Quots from THOMAS EDISON
- “My main purpose in life is to make enough money to create ever more inventions”
- “The dove is my emblem. I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it. I am proud of the fact that I have never invented weapons to kill”
- “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others. I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent”
- “My principal business consists of giving commercial value to the brilliant, but misdirected, ideas of others.... Accordingly, I never pick up an item without thinking of how I might improve it”
PREPARED BY: IBRAHIM T. IBRAHIM
