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Thomas Edison's Birth
Thomas Edison was born on this day in Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children. His parents, Samuel and Nancy Edison, were big influences in his early life with his mom being a school teacher and his dad being a political activist from Canada. This is significant because this is the start of a young man's career in science and technology. He got to the place he got to because he was very curious and always asked questions which people around him viewed as strange (Asimov 129). -
Gold discovered in California
This was the start of a very important event in the history of the U.S. At this time the first gold was discovered in California which led people to go crazy. People left everything they had including their farms, that made a decent amount of money, to try and strike it rich on the gold mines in California. This is significant because back then gold was very rare and this discovery lead to the first Gold Rush in U.S history (Grun 120). -
Pony Express
This system of delivering letters was much faster than how they did it before and everyone loved it. The pony express could deliver letters more than 1,800 miles in 10 days, the letters could go all the way from Missouri to California. Although the pony express was only in commission was for 18 months it was still a very big hit and it was important. This is significant because with the Pony express during that short time people were able to get what they needed fast (Grun 165). -
Loses Hearing
When Thomas was a young man he was trying to board a moving train and barely made it on. He had to hold on for the sake of his own life until a worker came and helped him. This worker pulled him up by his ears and left him almost completely deaf. This is significant because he later causes problems in his career since it affects how well he can hear the things around him (Asimov 130). -
Saves Boy
When Thomas was fifteen he was near the train tracks and saw a young boy on the tracks. As a freightcar was approaching the boy, Thomas rushed out and saved him. The father of the boy offered Thomas a lesson on Telegraphy. Thomas gladly accepted and this lead to his knowledge of this invention and gave him a bright future. It is rumored that when the message came through about Lincoln being killed that Edison took it down automatically without actually processing what occurred (Asimov 130). -
KKK
The KKK or known as the KU KLUX KLAN was created in Pulaski, Tennessee on December 24, 1865. The group was created during the reconstruction of the south after the Civil War. The KKK was a group that was against a lot of stuff, they didn't agree with like catholicism. They used terrorism by murdering groups or people they opposed. This is significant because this was a big deal back then because they were murdering a lot of people just because they did not agree with them (Alchin). -
New Jobs
As a young man Thomas went to Boston to find work as a telegrapher. He was able to record messages from New York's fastest telegrapher. In 1969 he went to New York City and as he was waiting for an interview the telegraph machine broke down and no one knew what was wrong but he knew what was wrong and fixed it and immediately got the job. This is significant because with this job he was able to invent the stock-ticker and decides to become a professional inventor (Asimov 131-132). -
Gets Married
On Christmas Day Thomas married Mary Stilwell. Together they had three children, but those children had no children of their own so the Edison family came to a halting stop. After the wedding Edison could not take any days off from working on the stock-ticker, so he worked late that day to pick up the time he missed during the day. This is significant because his new wife gave him support and kept him going on the path he was on to be a great inventor ("Thomas Edison Timeline"). -
Opens Menlo Park
Thomas was able to build this lab with the money he got from from selling his inventions the quadruplex telegraph which sold for 10,000 dollars. Most of his inventions were made at this research lab which led to his success in life. The employees only did research and followed his direction because Edison was the one who knew what had to be done. This is significant because it is home to many of his major inventions and is one of the things he is remembered for ("Thomas Edison Timeline"). -
Invention of the Phonograph
Thomas invented the phonograph during the summer of 1877 which was a telephone with a variation of acoustic telegraphy. He worked on it so it would transcribe what came over in a human voice which was the first one ever made. This is significant since it was the first invention of its kind and was an important contribution to civilization. This invention demonstrated the intelligence of Thomas since it was the first invention of its kind (Josephon). -
Invents the Light Bulb
Thomas was not the inventor of the first light bulb but he was the person that made the lightbulb popular. He bought Woodward and Evan's patent and made some changes and got his own patent. After his patent got approved he began manufacturing them and getting them ready for widespread use. This is significant since he is credited with this invention and giving humans the ability to use electricity. This changed the life of humans and is an invention still important today (Biography.com Editors). -
Creates Own Company
After developing his own lightbulb Thomas wanted to create a company that would bring electricity to people in cities. Thomas created the Edison Illuminating Company which is the first electric utility that was investor owned. This later becomes General Electric Corporation which is still a company today. This is significant since today electric companies are the main way to get electricity to your home. Also, Thomas's company is still a main electricity producer for people today (Bixby 75). -
Khudiram Bose was executed
Khudiram Bose and his friend Prafulla Chaki tried to murder a British judge. They suspected what carriage he was in and tried to bomb it, they had the wrong one and ended up killing two British women. His friend Prafulla committed suicide before the he got arrested. Khudiram was arrested and trialed for murder on the two women but was eventually sentenced to death and got executed. This is significant because they tried to kill someone and then killed the wrong target (Ahmad Sethi). -
Titanic Sinks
In this year the biggest boat known to man was setting sail.This boat was caring some of the richest people in the world or people that were just looking for a new life in North America. Unfortunately the boat collided with an iceberg on April 15, 1912 and sank. Over 1,500 people died because of this. This is significant because this was supposed to be a big deal that the biggest ship ever was going to bring people to start a new life, but it sank and killed many people (Alchin). -
World War I
World War I began on the continent of Europe and started due to Francis Ferdinand the Archduke and his wife Sofia being killed. Gavrilo Princip shot and killed them both since he worked for a nationalist group called the Black Hand. Due to alliances one country after another entered the war. This started the biggest world conflict up to that date. This is significant since there had been no war like this before this point and it killed a lot of people (Ratnikas). -
Thomas Edison's Death
Thomas Edison died due to issues involving his diabetes. He was in his home named "Glenmont" which was located in West Orange, New Jersey. Thomas Edison was eighty-four years old when he passed away and lived a life filled with countless inventions. After his passing many communities and companies dimmed their lights or turned off their power to remember him. This is significant since his death marked the end of a great man who brought countless inventions to life (Biography.com Editors).
