Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor, scientist and businessman who invented many things that greatly influenced life around the world, such as the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Edison has been recognized as the creator of the first industrial research laboratory. It is he who came up with the concept of providing electricity for home. His first power station was on Manhattan Island, New York.

Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, and grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. He was the seventh and last child of his family. When he was young, Edison stayed at home and was taught by his mother. Edison recalled later, “My mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me; and I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint.” During his childhood, he suffered from scarlet fever which affected his hearing.

Young Edison sold candy and newspapers on trains running from Port Huron to Detroit, and he sold vegetables to supplement his income. These jobs, though insignificant, inspired him greatly. He realized that he had a talent for business. These talents eventually made him founder of 14 companies, including General Electric, which is still in existence and is the largest publicly traded company in the world.

Edison started as a telegraph operator and this was the field in which he came up with the first invention. The invention which first gained him fame was the phonograph in 1877. The invention seemed magical, as nothing similar had ever been thought of before. Funded by the successful sale of the telegraph at a price of $10,000, Edison built his own research laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

The laboratory expanded rapidly over the decade. In 1892, it was confirmed that Edison was the official inventor of the carbon microphones, which was used in all telephones. Although he attempted to make use of X-rays to take radiographs, he quit the project and admitted his fear of X-rays in public.

Thomas Edison died of diabetes at his home in New Jersey, on October 18, 1931 and in honor of his contributions, Life magazine (USA), in a special double issue in 1997, placed Edison first in the list of the “100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years”, noting that the light bulb he promoted “lit up the world”.

Title: Thomas Edison—an influential person in the American history

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