The Big Question
Introduction
This essay will explore the life of Thomas Edison for the purpose of persuading you that he was, and still is, a notable individual. I believe a notable person is someone that is remarkable and achieves inspiring things over the course of a lifetime. For me, Edison easily fits the definition of a notable person. His creations and inventions were inspiring and are still relevant, even today. Over Edison's full and interesting life, he was committed to accumulating a vast amount of knowledge on the subject of electricity and the way machines function and operate. It is clear from his many inventions that Edison was a creative visionary and was one of the smartest people ever to walk the Earth. He worked with the famous Nikola Tesla and even though they were long-time rivals, Tesla would, I believe, agree that Edison was a person that should be admired and respected. In Edison's life, he fell down ditches while at other times he struck gold. Edison had a disability but did not let this get in the way of his success. The experience of hardship helped him to follow his dreams. I believe Edison is not only notable, but very inspiring. His life story demonstrates how one single person can accomplish amazing feats with hard work and persistence.
Early life and hearing loss
Edison suffered great adversity in childhood but I believe this laid the stepping stones to great success. The son of an exiled political activist and a talented school teacher, Edison was one of seven children. By the age of 12, Edison had been diagnosed with scarlet fever and had many ear infections which left him with hearing loss in both ears as a child. By the time he was an adult, Edison was nearly deaf and this presented many hurdles for him during employment. Many people with disabilities have trouble coping with life and work. Even without hearing difficulties, nearly everyone in the world would struggle greatly to achieve a tiny portion of Edison's accomplishments. Edison famously said that "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work".
School life – an "addled child" and a mother's love
Edison suffered many hardships, especially during his school days. In his early years, his teachers labelled him as a restless child, hyperactive, "prone to distraction", "difficult" and without any friends. In fact, a popular story often told (but uncertain whether true) exists regarding a letter which was given to Edison by one of his school teacher's. The letter was addressed only to his mother and apparently when he returned home, Nancy Edison, read it out to him: "Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have good enough teachers to train him. Please teach him at home." Many years later and following the death of his beloved mother, Edison was sorting through her papers and discovered a small piece of paper that he recognized as the form he had been given by his school. On it read the words, "Your son's brain is addled. We will not allow him to come to school." It was these words that fueled Nancy and her son to succeed and ultimately become notable.
It is well known that Edison's mother was his hero, teacher and greatest supporter. On sighting the harsh words from his school teacher, Edison wrote in his notebook, "Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child that, by a hero mother, became the genius of the century". From the articles I have read, it is clear that his mother really understood him. Nancy never gave up on her son even when his teachers thought little of him. She was committed and loyal to Edison in every way and prepared an amazing home-schooling routine which worked for her son. Nancy refused to believe the labels given to him by his teachers which included that he was "a dumb and psychotic child". Research from The Foundation for Economic Education reports that Edison was dyslexic and found sitting in a classroom "pure misery". His teachers forced students to learn by memorizing lines which he found difficult. Edison stated "I remember I used to never be able to get along at school. I was always at the foot (bottom) of the class. I used to feel that my teachers did not sympathize with me and thought I was stupid". As a result, Nancy continued to home-school Edison and be his mentor throughout his life until her death. I like to think of their relationship as an analogy of a fire. Edison was like a slow, burning fire which needed the correct wood to thrive. Without wood the fire may have failed. But with the correct wood, the fire could grow and burn with confidence.
Edison's improvements on the inventions of others
Edison had a superior vision and was often able to improve many earlier inventions of others. The telegraph is just one example. Between 1870 and 1874, Edison improved Samuel Morse's earlier creation by which a telegraph receiver used a metal stylus to mark chemically-treated paper. This could then be run through a typewriter machine and recorded up to 1000 words per minute which meant very long messages could be sent quickly.
Another example was Edison's improvements to the Stock Ticker. A Stock Ticker was the first mechanical way of transmitting stock market data to various brokers and investors across a region or country and was invented by Edward Calahan. Edison's changes produced a simpler and smaller product which was smoother in operation. The Gold and Stock Telegraph Company were so impressed, they paid him $40,000 for the rights (now approximately $280,000). Edison's Stock Ticker completely revolutionized the landscape of New York finance as it received and instantaneously printed stocks quotes, bonds and commodities.
There are many more inventions which were improved by Edison. The Carbon Telephone Transmitter, patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 was also improved by Edison who used batteries and carbon to improve Bell's creation. He did this by designing black carbon made from soot, placing it behind the diaphragm.
Some say that a notable person is one that only invents. This is true but I also believe that the ability of a person to improve and build upon existing inventions, also results in that person being remembered as notable.
The phonograph – Edison's most enjoyable invention
Edison's most favorite invention was the phonograph. His work on this exciting project came about as a spin-off from his work on the telegraph. It was a visionary accident!
Edison's phonograph was the first device to record sound and play it back. In 1877, the Scientific American reported that "Mr. Thomas A Edison recently came into this office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph, informed us that it was very well, and bid us a cordial good night". Edison obtained a patent for his phonograph to protect his discovery for capturing sound on tin-foil covered cylinders. The uses which Edison listed to protect his patent were forward-thinking and included uses for letter writing and dictation, phonographic books for blind people, a family record (recording family members in their own voices), music boxes and toys, clocks that announce the time, and a connection with the telephone so communications could be recorded. These uses helped a variety of people including people with disabilities. I wonder if his own disabilities fueled him to help others. Whatever the reason, this invention further shows that Edison's inventions reached and affected many people in a positive way.
The light bulb
Undoubtedly, Thomas Edison's most famous and well known invention was his improvement to the light bulb. In fact, when people think of Edison, the light bulb is probably the only invention that comes to mind.
Light bulbs were first made from a titanium filament but it was too expensive for the common person or family to purchase. Edison set to work experimenting, failing, experimenting, and then failing again. At last, Edison found the perfect filament - it was carbon. At only 17 cents, Edison's perfect bulb made it not only to New York but every corner of the world. It helped and saved people and their families a lot of money. Edison famously said, "we will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles".
Edison's improvements to the light bulb had a range of positive impacts on the world. Hospitals and operating machines and equipment were improved due to Edison's bulb. For many mining expeditions undertaken, they were used at the tops of caverns and mines. Later during World War 1 and World War 2, it would be used over and over again. This invention helped many people, rich and poor, live comfortably and happily. Not only did it allow people of all means, to interact after dark, without the need for burning candles, but it improved the health of families as they no longer burnt dirty oil lamps. Edison's bulbs had the brightness of sixteen candles.
Edison's later years
In the later years of Edison's life, he became less involved with day to day experiments. It is clear that Edison was losing his enthusiasm. While he continued to maintain authority over his companies, his time was more focused on maintaining the market viability of his businesses than producing frequent inventions.
At the start of WW1, Edison was sure that the future of war was technology. In an attempt to bring science into its defense, the US government assigned Edison as the head of The Naval Consulting Board. Although many of Edison's ideas were rejected, Edison continued to undertake research about naval matters. He also thought about ways to detect submarines, but unfortunately the Navy was not receptive to many of his suggestions. Why was this you think, Edison was someone to look up to and listen to, he was one of the most of the most notable people in the world let alone New York. It is probably the fact that Edison had been forced to step down and was no longer the president of Thomas A Edison Inc.
In the 1920s, Edison's health became worse and he began to spend more time with his wife. His relationship with his children was distant even though his son, Charles, was president of his company. Henry Ford, an admirer and friend of Edison's, reconstructed Edison's invention factory as a museum at Greenfield Village, Michigan, which opened during the 50th anniversary of Edison's electric light bulb in 1929. The main celebration for Light's Golden Jubilee, co-hosted by Ford and General Electric, took place in Dearborn along with a huge celebratory dinner in Edison's honor attended by notables such as President Hoover and John Rockefeller.
Edison – the vision and the failure
Edison was a visionary, a successful businessman and a creative genius. By the time of his death in 1931 he had recorded 1093 patents. He had established many companies throughout his life - some thrived, others withered. These included, The Edison Ore Milling Co which unfortunately closed because of a change in the market, and also Thomas A Edison Co which is where Edison spent up to 60 hours straight in the lab focusing on his new inventions including the light bulb and phonograph. This also was the setting in which Edison fired his greatest enemy, Nikola Tesla. It is said that Tesla and Edison were rivals but many believe they regarded each other as their nemesis.
Edison – and my connections to him
I have known and respected Edison for at least 2 years before I began to research about him. And it is only now that I finally realize how much we have in common. I sometimes find it really hard to focus in class, and can become completely distracted when I get to bored. Edison had the same issue, he disliked the school system and never liked doing the work that he found boring ore useless. Edison inspired me to do the thing that I love which is writing and storytelling. Both Edison and I were inventors though not the same type. He was an inventor of little machines that worked wonders, I am an inventor of stories and poems. They are the same and also not the same. Both eventually come up with a final product which by definition makes them both an invention.
Conclusion
Without Edison, the world would not be where it is today. People would have died, families and couples would have been destroyed and hospitals and orphanages would not have been able to function and operate. Those with disabilities including individuals without vision would not have been able to experience "Talking Books" or listen to inspiring music. This man threw away everything, mostly his time, to finish and complete inventions that would help the world. Edison's commitment demonstrates the positive impact which his inventions had for the greater good. He was also not defeated by failure and once famously said, "I have not failed 10,000 times – I've successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work".