Others blame it on a conductor boxing his ears after Edison caused a fire in the baggage car, an incident which Edison claimed never happened. Some attribute it to the aftereffects of scarlet fever which he had as a child. There are several theories as to what caused his hearing loss. An accidental fire forced him to stop his experiments on board.Īround the age of twelve, Edison lost almost all his hearing. In the baggage car, he set up a laboratory for his chemistry experiments and a printing press, where he started the Grand Trunk Herald, the first newspaper published on a train. In 1859, Edison took a job selling newspapers and candy on the Grand Trunk Railroad to Detroit. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint." 1 At an early age, he showed a fascination for mechanical things and for chemical experiments. Edison said many years later, "My mother was the making of me. When a schoolmaster called Edison "addled," his furious mother took him out of the school and proceeded to teach him at home. To seek a better fortune, Sam Edison moved the family to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1854, where he worked in the lumber business.Įdison was a poor student. Edison tended to be in poor health when young. Known as "Al" in his youth, Edison was the youngest of seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Thomas Alva Edison was born to Sam and Nancy on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. When Sam became involved in an unsuccessful insurrection in Ontario in the 1830s, he was forced to flee to the United States and in 1839 they made their home in Milan, Ohio. Edison's mother, Nancy Elliott, was originally from New York until her family moved to Vienna, Canada, where she met Sam Edison, Jr., whom she later married. From there, later generations relocated to Ontario and fought the Americans in the War of 1812. Edison's forebears lived in New Jersey until their loyalty to the British crown during the American Revolution drove them to Nova Scotia, Canada. Department of Interior, National Park Service, Edison National Historic Site. Several excellent biographies are readily available in local libraries to those who wish to learn more about the particulars of his life and many business ventures. The following is only a brief sketch of an enormously active and complex life full of projects often occurring simultaneously. A myriad of business liaisons, partnerships, and corporations filled Edison's life, and legal battles over various patents and corporations were continuous. Aside from being an inventor, Edison also managed to become a successful manufacturer and businessman, marketing his inventions to the public. In his 84 years, he acquired an astounding 1,093 patents. One of the most famous and prolific inventors of all time, Thomas Alva Edison exerted a tremendous influence on modern life, contributing inventions such as the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, as well as improving the telegraph and telephone. Listen to this page Life of Thomas Alva Edison
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