Thomas Alva Edison

Thomas Alva Edison was born in 1847. He was sick a lot when he was young. Edison’s mother taught him lessons at home and only studied the things he wanted to know. At age ten, he read his first science book. After he read the book, he built a laboratory in his house. Soon, Edison started to invent things. He was interested in the telegraph and electricity. At age twenty-three, he made a special telegraphic machine and sold it for a lot of money. It is said that he planned to ask two or three thousand dollars for his invention. He was invited to the meeting of businessmen who were interested in buying his invention and was very nervous to name a price.

“It is no use asking us a big price” – said one of the businessmen, – “we’ve already decided how much we will pay. Forty thousand dollars is our limit.” With this money, he was now free to invent all the time.

Edison started his own laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. He hired mechanics and chemists to help him. He worked day and night. Once, he worked on forty-five inventions at the same time. Edison did not sleep very much, but he took naps. He often fell asleep with his clothes on. One day, he even fell asleep in the closet!

Did you know Edison invented wax paper, fire alarms, the battery, and motion pictures? All his inventions were the result of hard work. But his favorite invention was the phonograph, or a record player. He invented the phonograph in 1876. His other famous invention was the light bulb. Edison died in 1931, at the age of eighty-four. He had over 1,300 inventions to his name! Many people say that Edison was a genius – one of the smartest people in the world! According to him, the idea that a genius works only by inspiration was absurd. “Genius is 2 percent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration,” – he often said.

Milanda Brokal, Introduction the USA “A Cultural Reader”