Contents
Thomas Edison
Developing the phonograph and practical electric-lighting systems.
Phonograph · Electric lighting system
- Born
- 11 February 1847
- Birthplace
- Milan, USA
- Died
- 18 October 1931
More people
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman who organised teams around sustained experimentation. His laboratories worked on sound recording, electric power and moving pictures, helping turn inventions into commercial systems.
Early life
Ohio and Michigan
Born in Ohio and grew up partly in Port Huron, Michigan.
Telegraph work
Learned telegraphy as a young man and travelled for work as an operator.
Career
- 1860s
Early patents
Began developing improvements to telegraph equipment.
- 1876
Menlo Park laboratory
Established a research workshop bringing inventors and skilled workers together.
- 1882
Electric power service
Opened the Pearl Street generating station in New York.
- 1887 onward
West Orange
Expanded research and manufacturing at a larger New Jersey complex.
Contributions
Phonograph
Recorded and reproduced sound using a tinfoil-covered cylinder.
Electric lighting system
Developed an incandescent lamp alongside generation and distribution equipment.
Motion-picture apparatus
His laboratory developed early film cameras and viewing equipment.
Beyond invention
Collaborative invention
Employees and associates made substantial contributions to the laboratory’s inventions.
Preserved workplaces
The West Orange laboratory and his home are preserved as a US national historical park.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
