Thomas Edison Inventions by Lori Lucas

Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 and lived to the age of eighty-four. Edison was both a scientist and inventor. During his lifetime Edison would see colossal change, largely due to his own contribution. Considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, he held one-thousand-ninety-three patents both in the United States and abroad. His contributions reached overseas and into the homes. Mass communication and telecommunications all fall under the umbrella that is an Edison invention (Inventions, 2000).
Edison pioneered and implemented electric-power generation that was distributed into homes businesses and factories (Inventions, 2000). When Edison was born, society still thought of electricity as a novelty, a fad. By the time he died, entire cities were lit by electricity (Franklin, 2001).
The most famous of his inventions was an incandescent light bulb. Besides the light bulb, Edison developed the phonograph and the "kinetoscope," a small box for viewing moving films (Franklin, 2001).Edison improved on original designs as well, such as the stock ticker and the telegraph and Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone. Edison exemplified hard work coupled with ingenuity. It has been said that when he died in October of 1931, lights were dimmed for one minute.
The inventions of Thomas Edison. (n.d.). about.com [Fact sheet]. Retrieved July
12, 2009, from http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm
The wizard of menlow park. (n.d.). The Franklin Institute [Fact sheet].
Retrieved July 12, 2009, from http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/
edison.html