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Thomas Edison was born to Samuel and Nancy Thomas. He was one of seven children.
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At age 12 Edison started his own newspaper, the Grand Trunk Herald. He sold up-to-date newspapers to passengers at a local train station.
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At age fifteen, Edison saved a three year old from a loose train car. The father re-payed him by teaching Edison how to operate a telegraph. That same year he became an official telegraph operator.
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Edison moved to Louisville, Kentucky at age nineteen to work for the Associated Press. Two years later Edison returned home because his mother was ill and father out of a job.
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Edison moved to New York and made the universal stock printer. This was his first invention which he sold for $40,000. After this success, he quit his telegraph operator job.
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Edison invented a machine used to record sound, which was the first of its kind. One end recorded, and the other end played back the sound.
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Edison founded Edison Illuminating Company, now known as General Electric. This company was devoted to selling his newly made lightbulb.
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Edison was the first to show a motion picture film which he showed at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in New York City. After its success, Edison and one of his laboratories started Edison Films.
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Edison tried inventing the electric car, but the release of Henry Fords Model T caused Edison to quit. He instead made an electric starter for the Model T instead.
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Edison died from diabetes at his home in West Orange, New Jersey. He lead one of America's technological revolutions.
