By: Shannon Matuszny EECT 111

Thomas Edison and his family

 Born February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio  Inquisitive and wanted to learn on his own ◦ Mystery of hatching eggs ◦ Escape from drowning ◦ Public spanking

 Moved to Port Huron by railroad train when seven  Removed from formal schooling at age 12  Realized worth of education ◦ Sponsored Edison scholarships

 At age 11 had a chemical laboratory  Read many books ◦ Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” ◦ The “Dictionary of Sciences”  At age 12 had a job as newsboy and candy “butcher”  “The Weekly Herald”

 Tale ◦ Caused by trainman who boxed his ears when Edison’s traveling laboratory caught fire  Truth (Edison’s Truth) ◦ Caused by trainman who picked him up by the ears to get him on a train pulling out of the station

How Edison got introduced into the world of electricity

 Before age 17 Edison risked his life to save a station agent’s young boy  In return, Edison was taught telegraphy  First insight to electricity and the beginning of his studies and experiments

 At age 17 became a regular telegrapher on the Grand Trunk Line in Ontario  Creative invention got him fired ◦ Device to automatically “report in” in Morse code every hour  Found a job with Western Union in Boston  Ended up in New York poor and in debt

 Created the Universal Stock Printer ◦ Received $40,000  Opened a factory and manufactured stock tickers  At age 23 was established and successful

The creation of a commercially viable incandescent electric lamp

 Gas lights were prevalent before 1879  Many inventors worked to create incandescent light stemming from electric arc lamp ◦ James Prescott Joule ◦ Sir Humphrey Davy

 Contributing factors ◦ Durable incandescent material ◦ A better vacuum within the bulb ◦ Filament material of high resistance  Platinum  Carbonized Japanese bamboo  Tungsten

 Parallel circuit  Durable light bulb  Improved dynamo  Underground conductor network  Devices for maintaining constant voltage  Safety fuses and insulating materials  Light sockets with on-off switches

Inventions following the success of the incandescent electric lamp

 First application in the field of electronics  Phenomenon where an independent wire or plate, when placed between the legs of the filament in an electric bulb, serves as a valve to control the flow of current

 Motion picture camera ◦ Invented and patented in 1888  Steel alkaline storage battery ◦ Improved Edison battery in 1910 ◦ Boost to electric car manufacturers ◦ Short-lived  Rubber ◦ U.S. dependent on foreign sources during WWI ◦ Made from goldenrod

Following Edison’s success multiple electric companies were formed

 Edison General Electric was formed in 1889 from various smaller companies ◦ Edison never controlled company  General Electric was formed after Edison General Electric and leading competitor Thompson-Houston merged

 Formed by Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse  “Joint arrangement between GE and the Westinghouse Co. to defend the patents of the two companies in litigation” (Venable)  Over 600 lawsuits for patent infringement filed

Thomas Alva Edison’s impact

 Affected life as we know it today  Huge discoveries and improvements ◦ Incandescent light bulb ◦ Phonograph ◦ Motion camera  Still remembered today through the existence of General Electric

 Light bulb history - invention of the light bulb. (2007). The Great Idea Finder. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from  The inventions of Thomas Edison. (n.d.). Inventors. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from  Venable, J. D. (n.d.). A brief biography of Thomas Alva Edison | Thomas Edison Muckers. Thomas Edison Muckers. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from biography/