Thomas Edison and the Invention of the Light Bulb

Introduction

Throughout history, inventions have helped mankind evolve and improve its existence. Some inventions are purely for entertainment, others arise out of necessity, but one invention can be credited with being a major element in every category of life. The invention of the light bulb was arguably one of the most important creations in history. When Thomas Edison first began to experiment with the possibility of illuminating life electrically, he probably had no idea he was about to change the world. His invention created the ability to work longer hours, perform needed services after dark, and enjoy more family time — changes that transformed the face of America in ways never before imagined. Edison did much more than invent the light bulb. He held a world record for more than 1,000 patents and is arguably responsible for the emergence of America as a modern nation.

Stories abound about the man who lit up the nation and therefore the world. It is often said that Thomas Edison required very little sleep, ate only when he remembered, and had a genius IQ rivaled by none. With so many years having passed since his lifetime, it is sometimes difficult to separate fact from legend. However, records and documents passed down from generation to generation do allow us to know a great deal about how the man who invented the light bulb arrived at that point.

Biography

Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847. Three older siblings had died from the harshness of winter before his arrival, leaving him with one brother and two sisters. Edison's childhood was one of constant, almost relentless curiosity — a trait that would serve him well when he eventually went on to hold a world record for more than 1,000 patents. While he was still a child, however, that curiosity sometimes caused him a great deal of trouble. One famous example was the time he accidentally burned down a family barn in the course of an experiment. He was charged with arson at the tender age of six, but the mishap did nothing to slow him down.

There were also early questions about his intellectual abilities. Stories are told that a friend of his drowned while the two were playing at a creek, and Edison failed to show any emotion. A teacher later told his parents that he was "dumb" and would never be able to learn. It was that statement that prompted Edison's mother to pull him from school and educate him at home — a decision that may have created the environment he needed to bury himself in learning and, eventually, invent the light bulb.

Before he was ten years old, Edison had already read History of England, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, History of the World, and The Age of Reason. When he was eleven, he built his own telegraph set from a picture in a book — a device that would later become the foundation of his first profession.

Edison became almost completely deaf by the time he reached his teen years, but it did not slow him down. He worked as a telegrapher, though the job eventually bored him and he was let go. During this period he lived in poverty, reportedly sleeping in basements. Along the way he invented voting machines and other devices, but it was the invention of a stock ticker that truly changed his fortunes. He was stunned when he was offered $40,000 for its rights — an enormous sum at the time. The sale lifted him from poverty to prosperity, relieving the stress of day-to-day survival and allowing him to focus even more intensely on his desire to invent.

One day, Edison encountered a young woman standing out in the rain and fell in love with her. Her name was Mary Stilwell. He offered her a job in his laboratory, and she accepted. He taught her Morse code and later married her. After Mary died, having given him several children, Edison married Mina, who also gave him a child.

During his adult life he created many inventions. He was asked to improve the telephone that had been created by Alexander Graham Bell, and it was shortly after that period that Edison invented the light bulb — a creation that would change America, and eventually the world, in ways never before dreamed possible.

Edison died at the age of 84. American citizens were so saddened by the loss that, in a spontaneous act of tribute, many turned off their power for a moment of silence to honor the man who had lit up their world.

Exploring His Inventions

Before Edison could complete the invention of the light bulb, he had to invent several supporting components to accompany it. By the time he actually demonstrated a working light bulb — achieved through the development of a practical filament — Edison held seven patents on peripheral items necessary for its use. These included the parallel circuit, a durable light bulb, an improved dynamo, the underground conductor network, devices for maintaining constant voltage, safety fuses and insulating materials, and light sockets with on-off switches (Thomas Edison, inventors.about.com).

Every one of these elements had to be invented and then, through careful trial and error, developed into practical, reproducible components. The first public demonstration of Edison's incandescent lighting system took place in December 1879, when the Menlo Park laboratory complex was electrically illuminated. Edison spent the next several years building the electric industry from the ground up (Thomas Edison, inventors.about.com).

During Edison's adult life, America was changing drastically. It was an era that marked growth in immigration, domestic expansion, foreign relationships, urbanization, and industrialization (Collins, 2004). Edison's inventions — among them the phonograph, the stock ticker, and the voting machine — were stepping stones toward the industrialization and modernization of the nation. As one historian has noted, "From the stock ticker to cement to an electric pen to the phonograph, Edison was both a scientific genius and someone who could be confused as one of his employees, since he often dressed in work clothes. Yet there was nothing common about Thomas Edison, nor the times in which he lived. The American landscape was changing rapidly, led by technological innovations, many of which Edison developed or improved. In short, to understand Edison is to understand the emergence of the United States as a global power" (Collins, 2004).

Conclusion

Edison personified work, persistence, and self-confidence. It paid off. He is regarded as one of the most important contributors to America's development. The nation, now one of the most powerful on earth, owes much of its success to the little boy who was told he was stupid — and went on to prove his genius: Thomas Edison.