Thomas Edison was born in 1847 in Milan, Ohio, and received little formal schooling, learning most of his skills through self-study and his mother's guidance. As a boy he worked selling newspapers on trains, and he soon displayed an insatiable curiosity for experiments and practical invention.
Edison established his famous laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, considered one of the first organized industrial research and development facilities in history. There he developed the phonograph in 1877, the first device able to record and play back sound, and after years of experimentation created the first practical incandescent light bulb in 1879, which brought light to homes and cities worldwide.
An inventor without limits
Edison's work extended further still, contributing to early motion picture cameras and to systems for generating and distributing electrical power. Over his lifetime he held more than a thousand patents in the United States alone, making him one of history's most prolific inventors.
- Invented the phonograph for recording sound
- Developed the first practical incandescent light bulb
- Contributed to early motion picture camera technology
- Held more than 1,000 patents
