
Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931) - Inventor

Education:
As a young boy, Edison was constantly asking people "how
does this thing work?" Due to his persistent questioning, his school teacher lost
patience with him and his mother
was forced to withdraw him from school at age 7. His
mother then began to teach him herself - homeschooling
Thomas.
At the age of 12, he left schooling behind completely and spent the rest of his life
teaching himself and inventing things for other people.
Employment:
At age 12, Edison's first job was selling newspapers,
vegetables, snacks, and candy on the local railroad. He then decided to begin writing his
very own newspaper called "The Weekly Herald", which he published and sold to
passengers on the trains. It was the first ever newspaper to be printed and sold on a
moving train.
At age 14, he learned to be a telegraph operator. He was interested in the equipment he
used in this job, and was always studying and experimenting ways to improve it. The
experience he gained from this job lead him to produce his first patented invention in
1868. He subsequently quit telegraphy to become a full-time inventor.
Experiences:
When he was young, Edison contracted scarlet fever and became
80% deaf in one ear and totally deaf in the other. He used the silence that came with his
deafness to increase his power of concentration.
Edison had very little schooling when he was a child and was
mainly self-taught.
Edison's work as a telegraper was what got him interested in
the field of electrical engineering.
As a telegrapher, Edison liked to experiment with equipment
to figure out how everything worked. However, he was fired from many jobs because he often
preferred to concentrate on his own interests rather than working.
After becoming a full-time inventer, Edison's had many
spectalur inventions. Just some of these include:
an electrical vote recorder, the automatic telegraph, the typewriter, the carbon telephone
transmitter, the phonograph, the light bulb, galvanic batteries, and the electric motor.
Opportunities:
Whilst at a train station, Edison saved the station master's
child from being hit by a train. As a way of thanking him, the station master taught
Edison how to use Morse code and the telegraph.
Edison left home to work as a telegrapher at a prestigious
Western Union Company in Boston.
With no job and no money, Edison walked off the street and
was able to fix a broken down stock-ticker for a finance company. He was given a job at
the company and later he invented his own stock ticker. A corporation paid him $40,000 for
some of his patent rights to this invention.
Edison became business partners with some of richest people
in New York, J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts. Together they formed the Edison Electric
Light Company, which is now known as General Electric.
Edison got to exchange ideas with such people as Charles
Lindberg, Marie Curie, Graham Bell, Henry Ford, and President Herbert Hoover.
Training:
Apart from being trained to become a telegrapher, Edison
received very little formal training. He was mainly self taught and was interested in
experimenting with new things on his own.
Links:
Did You Know?

Edison founded 14 companies, one of which, General Electrics is one
of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.
Due to his many inventions, Edison is credited with holding
1,093 patents and is the only person to have a patent every year for 65 consecutive years.
Edison was voted Life magazine's "Number One Man of the
Millennium"
When he was young, Edison's love of Shakespeare lead him to
seriously consider becoming an actor.
When Thomas Edison died on October 18th, 1931 (age 84), at the
time of his burial, many communities throughout the world dimmed their lights to pay their
respects to the great inventor.
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Presenting
Thomas Edison
Primary
Middle
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Literacy
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Critical & Creative Thinking
The
Inventions of Thomas Edison

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Taking one of the three
inventions listed here [in this website]:
Phonograph;
Light Bulb; and,
Motion Pictures,
1. Describe the invention
2. Find a photograph of the invention
3. Find an audio or YouTube video about your invention eg.
Mary had a little
lamb recording
4. Create a timeline of your chosen invention
5. Describe the impact of this invention on the world.
6. Create a presentation [PowerPoint or
Prezi] about Edison's invention. |
Edison
vs Westinghouse: A Shocking Rivalry!
Secondary
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Critical and creative thinking
Australian
Curriculum General Capability:
Personal and social capability
Australian
Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding
Cooperative
Learning Activity
1. Read over the following
article from the
Smithsonian: Edison vs Westinghouse: A Shocking Rivalry:

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Thomas Edison and George
Westinghouse, more than a century ago, engaged in a nasty battle
over alternating and direct current, known as the “War of Currents.”
Both men knew there was room for but one American electricity
system, and Edison set out to ruin Westinghouse in “a great
political, legal and marketing game” that saw the famous inventor
stage publicity events where dogs, horses and even an elephant were
killed using Westinghouse’s alternating current.
The two men would play out their battle on the front pages of
newspapers and in the Supreme Court, in the country’s first attempt
to execute a human being with electricity.
(Source:
Smithsonian)
As you read this
article, write down 5 interesting facts that you encountered.
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2. With a partner, list the arguments and counter
arguments put forward in the article.
Mind map the facts, arguments, and,
counter arguments. Share with the class.
3.

As a class, debate the question:
"Were the tactics used by Edison ethical?"
Material sourced from
The Edison & Ford Winter Estates
Thomas Edison's Home Page
Wikipedia - Thomas Alva Edison
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