Thomas Edison – Presentation Cards

* Thomas Edison was an American inventor of the 19th century. * Invented things like the incandescent electric light bulb, phonograph, the phonograph record, the telephone transmitter and the motion picture projector.

* Born February 11, 1847- in Milan, Ohio.

* At age of 12 - he lost almost all his hearing. * Possibly from Scarlet Fever or an incident where he was lifted to the train by his ears. * Did not let his disability discourage him - caused him to concentrate more on his experiments and research. * Deafness made him more solitary and shy in dealing with others.

* The schoolmaster at his school thought Edison to be an incredibly stupid boy.

* His mother became disgusted at the school, took him out and began homeschooling him. * She taught him at a higher level than anyone his age. * By age eleven, he established his own laboratory in his basement.

* Edison was home-schooled his whole life - he did not attend public high school or go to college. * His mother was the making of him. * Edison felt that his mother gave him someone to live for and to not disappoint. At an early age he showed a love for mechanical things and chemical experiments.

* Edison spent much of his free time conducting scientific experiments.

* Married at age 24 to Mary - had 3 children - Mary died 13 years later from a brain tumor. * Then at age 49 married Mena - had 3 more children. * He died at the age of 84 after he lapsed into a coma following two years of a series of sicknesses.

* Was involved in WWI - named head of the Naval Consulting Board. * Edison spent time doing naval research - particularly on submarine detection.

* Edison experimented with thousands of different light bulb filaments. * He wanted to find the right materials to glow well, be long lasting, and be inexpensive. * In 1879, he discovered that a carbon filament in oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for a long time. * This incandescent bulb changed the world.

*In 1911, Edison's companies were re-organized into Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated., which became a thriving company.

* Edison had his hand in a variety of inventions. * He patented 1,093 inventions. * He was known for saying, \"Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99% perspiration.\" * He was well known and respected by many. * In his honor, a few days after his death, electric lights in the United States were dimmed for one minute.

* Edison had many admirers including Henry Ford. * Ford reconstructed Edison's invention factory as a museum in Greenfield Village, Michigan. * The museum opened during the 50th anniversary Edison's electric light in 1929.