Biographical Information for Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is known to be one of the most prolific inventors in history. He invented hundreds of appliances and made others better. His existence is to be admired by all of humanity.
The childhood of Edison foreshadowed his future success, as he displayed much interest in the sciences. He was born in Ohio in 1847, but raised for the majority of his younger years in Michigan.
Most people remember Edison for the light bulb, but that is only a small part of this man’s history. Edison registered almost eleven hundred patents in the United States, and he also had many other patents overseas.
His contributions well exceeded small appliances. Edison was a chief engineer in the development of mass telecommunication and electrical distribution, both of which are necessary to our daily lives. He also started several power plants.
Despite his enormous intellect, Edison was known to be unfair and aggressive. For example, he offered Nikola Tesla fifty-thousand dollars in exchange for improving his company’s generators. When Tesla completed the task, Edison said he was joking, and then even refused Tesla a small raise.
Another struggle between Edison and Tesla was that of what type of current was better. Edison promoted direct current, and Tesla backed alternating current. In reality, alternating current is more efficient, and Tesla’s knowledge was eventually solidly rewarded.
Another well known fact about Edison is his persistence in determining the perfect filament for the light bulb. Some filaments only worked for a few seconds or hours, but a commercially viable bulb would obviously need to last longer than that. Eventually Edison did find a great filament, although future light bulbs have been engineered to last longer.
As for philosophical beliefs, Edison was a peaceful man who believed in non-violence and the power of nature. There are dozens of Edison memorials in existence, as well as businesses named after him. General Electric, one of the largest modern corporations, was founded by Edison, and his contributions to humanity will never be forgotten.