Life of Thomas Edison

Skills you'll gain

Modules

9 modules in this path

1. 1. Early years

   3 life chapters

   What's included: 3 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1847 chapter: Born in Milan, Ohio

     Born in a canal town, already watching how things work

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1854 chapter: Family moves to Port Huron, Michigan

     My Mother Taught Me What School Couldn't

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's c. 1859–1863 chapter: Develops hearing problems and begins working

     How losing my hearing taught me to listen differently.

2. 2. Work & ideas

   4 life chapters

   What's included: 4 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1863–1869 chapter: Works as telegrapher and begins inventing

     I Lived in Night Shifts So I Could Live in Ideas

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1869 chapter: Moves to New York City and founds first company

     Twenty-two, broke, and sleeping in a battery room.

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1874 chapter: Invents quadruplex telegraph

     Four Messages. One Wire. Thirty Thousand Dollars.

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1876 chapter: Establishes Menlo Park laboratory

     Menlo Park is LIVE. I have built a house where sleep is optional and failure is merely the first draft.

3. 3. Highlights

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1877 chapter: Invents the phonograph

     I wrapped tinfoil around a cylinder, cranked the handle, and my own voice spoke back to me.

4. 4. Work & ideas

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1878 chapter: Begins work on electrical lighting system

     Gas is a barbarian. I want the moon in a bottle.

5. 5. Controversies & turning points

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1880s–1890s chapter: Current war with Westinghouse

     I Fought the Future and the Future Won

6. 6. Personal life

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's c. 1886 chapter: Marries second wife Mina

     I Married the Only Woman Who Understood My Hours

7. 7. Work & ideas

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1890s–1900s chapter: Expands into motion pictures and other industries

     When the Bulb Fades, Build a New Socket

8. 8. Later years

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's 1931 chapter: Death and business succession

     I Took Notes Until the End

9. 9. Legacy

   1 life chapter

   What's included: 1 lessons

   • lesson

     Understand Thomas Edison's after 1931 chapter: Legacy of industrial research and patent record

     1,093 Patents, and I Still Count the Names I Omitted

Teachers

Thomas Edison

invention · iteration