Thomas Edison - Self-educated, Inventor, Businessman with the most astonishing impact on our Society

 

Thomas Edison

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Thomas Edison
Edison, c. 1922
Born	Thomas Alva Edison February 11, 1847 Milan, Ohio, U.S.
Died	October 18, 1931 (aged 84) West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Burial place	Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Nationality	American
Education	Self-educated; some coursework at Cooper Union
Occupation	Inventor, businessman
Years active	1877–1930
Spouse(s)	Mary Stilwell ​ ​ (m. 1871; d. 1884)​ Mina Miller ​ ​ (m. 1886)​
Children	6, including Madeleine Edison, Charles Edison, Theodore Miller Edison, Thomas Alva Edison Jr.
Relatives	Lewis Miller (father-in-law)
Signature

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor.^[1][2][3] He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.^[4] These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world.^[5] He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.^[6]

Edison was raised in the American Midwest; early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions.^[4] In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanic laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, that featured the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. He was a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as patents in other countries. Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 of complications of diabetes.