Inventing the Future
A Photo biography
Of
Thomas Alva Edison
Genre: Biography
Boston was PERFECT
for Thomas Edison !!!
• In 1868 Edison took a job in the Western Union
telegraph office in Boston.
• He realized that Boston had people with similar
interests to his own.
• Boston was a community filled with inventors!
(Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in
1876)
Edison was inspired by all
the activity he found!
He met with people who had
money to invest in the
development of his ideas.
• He specialized in telegraphic devices but worked on other inventions
• He was 22 years old , (in 1868) when he received his 1st patent
• A patent is an official document issued by the government that gives
a person or company the sole right to make or sell an invention
His 1st patent (in 1868) was on an electric vote recorder.
• It was intended for state legislature use, but lawmakers were not interested.
• In 1869 Edison moved to New York City because many telegraph companies
had their headquarters there.
• There were many opportunities for a young inventor here.
• He repaired & improved stock printers/tickers because the noise was
loud
• He also repaired stock printers which was a telegraph that sent minute
by minute reports of the changing price of gold to stockbrokers’ offices
He soon realized that the telegraphic improvements were going to be
commercially successful!
In the fall of 1869, Edison started his own business
• They advertised themselves as electrical engineers who could
“devise electrical instruments to solve problems.”
• The company offered a variety of services having to do with
telegraph technology & develop new devices.
• He patented a number of telegraphic improvements
• People were willing to pay for his inventions!
By the time he was 23, he had a great reputation & several
financial backers
* he hired several skilled machinists & clockmakers to
assist in his inventions
Edison always thought of himself as an “equal” to his workers.
In the fall of 1871,at the age of 24, he started his own news service called,
the News Reporting Telegraph Company.
__________________________________________________________
Personal side-notes…
• He married on Christmas Day in 1871
• The couple’s 1st daughter was born & nickname was “Dot” (after the
telegraph signal)
• Their 2nd child, a son, was born later & nicknames “Dash” (another name
for a telegraph signal)
• The 3rd child was also a son, just
named William…..
While working on dozens inventions at
once, Edison 1st developed a method of
team inventing – that would
characterize the rest of his career.
Edison was described as generous, competitive & determined
• Edison would sketch out an idea & his assistants would make it into
a working model
• The Lab workers then would experiment with the model & see how it
worked
• Often times, the invention would fail, but that made Edison just
want to work harder at perfecting it!
• Edison’s workers were very loyal to him.
• Edison worked side by side with his workers and wasn’t afraid of
getting dirty or working long hours.
He often gave his workers a
percentage in the profits made
on an invention!
During this time, the mid- 1870’s, he invented the electric pen.
• It could create multiple copies of handwritten documents and sold
very well!
• During this time he manufactured, sold & patented many other
inventions.
• In 1876, Edison sold his Newark business & moved his family &
about 20 of his best workers to Menlo Park, New Jersey
There he had a laboratory built to his design & devoted himself to his
workers & research & development of his ideas.
Throughout all his fame, Edison
superior to his workers.
never thought himself as
• In 1877, less than a year that Alexander Graham Bell invented
the telephone, Edison discovered that small pieces of carbon
could increase the sound quality & range of the telephone.
• A version of that is still used in most telephones today!
• While working on the telephone, Edison thought of a way to
transmit human sound over wires……this was the invention of the
phonograph!
• He & his workers designed & tested ideas for this machine
• The phonograph was considered a “miracle” and he was
considered a “wizard!”
The phonograph is the base product of records & cd’s that we
listen to today!
Thomas Edison’s Greatest Challenge of his career
(after he invented the electric pen)
Was…… electric lighting systems for homes!
• This was not a new idea….
• Brightly burning lamps called ARC lights replaced gas street
lamps, but were not suitable for homes.
• Edison vowed to be the 1st to perfect this!
• He got the financial support he needed, and worked
diligently to perfect this idea.
• In 1879, after a lot of testing, Edison & his crew produced a
light bulb that burned longer than 13 hours!
Edison’s inventions/ideas are the foundation of many modern day
devices
• Improved how the telephone transmits
• Phonograph – records, cd’s , Mp3 players, & major impact on the
recording industry today!!
• Indoor & outdoor lighting
• Generators used to produce electricity
• Electric power stations that produce electricity to cities & towns
• Movie cameras that produce films - later he opened the world’s 1st
motion picture studio
Thomas Edison said many things to show his
level of determination!
“ Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is
success.”
“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive
results.”
“Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
“The phonograph is my baby & I expect it to grow
up and be a big fellar & support me in my
old age.”
Discussion Questions:
You need to find answers to these questions……
1. Why do you think the author included some of Edison’s quotations?
2. Edison was a good businessman as well as a good inventor. Name supporting evidence
for this from the story.
3. How did the author organize the story & why do you think it was done this way?
(things to consider in your answer…..chronological? Quotations used? Genre?)