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Thomas Alva Edison is born
Edison was born in Milan, Ohio on February 11th, 1847 and later his family moved to Michigan. -
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Thomas Edisons Life
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First job
Edison gets a job as a trainboy with the Grandfunk Railroad selling newspapers and candy. He set up a chemistry lab and printing press on board the train. -
First patent
Edison becomes a telegraph operator for Western Union and invented an automatic vote recorder and filed his first patent. -
Edison retires from telegraph operator
He retires as a telegraph operator to devote his time to inventing. After several more telegraph patents, he moves to New York City where he worked for the Laws Gold Indicator Company. -
Full time inventor
Edison moves to Newark, New Jersey and used all of his money and time for new inventions. He opens a telegraph manufacturing shop and invents many stock market machines. -
Edison marries
Edison marries one of his first employees, Mary Stillwell, on Christmas Day and together they have three children. -
Quadruplex telegraph
Edison invents the quadruplex telegraph for Western Union. This made it possible to send four telegraph messages at the same time. -
Invents the first version of a copy machine
Edison invented the electric pen which is an early form of a copy machine. -
Phonograph and carbon transmitter invented
Thomas invented the phonograph that plays music and later he improved it so people could afford it. During this same time the carbon transmitter was also invented which was used to make the telephone work much better. -
Carbon powered lamp and generator
Using the power of carbon, Edison invented the carbon-filament lamp that required no oil or fire. He also invented a direct-current generatoor for incandescent electric lighting. -
Widespread electricity
Thomas hired a larger staff an opened an industrial park to develop his electric lighting system for the public to use. -
Pearl Street power station
Edison founded the Pearl Street power station in New York City. This was considered the world's first central electricity generating station and not soon after, Edison moved east to help cities install electricity for the people. -
General Electric
Edison merged his electric Company with another company named Thomson-Houston Company, and General Electric was formed. -
The battery
Trying to find a way to store energy to use when electricity wasn't available, Edison came up with the battery. -
Thomas Edison dies
On October 18th 1931, Thomas Edison dies at the age of 84 due to complications with his diabetes. He passed away while in a coma in his home in West Orange, NJ.
Edison's inventions help change our world and the country honored him by dimming their lights on his funeral day.
