‘Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time’
This famous quote which resonates with us till date was given by a great inventor in America, Thomas Alva Edison whose inventions range in the domains of electronics, medicine and chemical research.
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 to October 18, 1931), after a difficult childhood, rose to great success because of his appetite for learning. He went on to become an astute businessman with over 1000 patents to his name. At the age of 19 he started working in a press named The Associated Press.
In his spare time, he designed an electronic voting recorder for quickly tallying votes in the legislature. The first invention was developed in 1869, an improved stock ticker, the Universal Stock Printer, which synchronized several stock ticker’s transactions. He died because of few complications in diabetes on October 18, 1931, in his home, “Glenmont,” in West Orange, New Jersey.
Edison kept journals for all phases of the great inventions. Here is his famous to-do list, written in June 1888.
During World war 1, the U.S. government asked Thomas Edison to head the Naval Consulting Board, which examined inventions submitted for military use. Edison worked on several projects, including submarine detectors and gun-location techniques.
Inventions and Discoveries
- Phonograph cylinder- His first successful recording and reproduction of intelligible sounds.
- Telegrafo quadruplex- The Quadruplex telegraph is a type of electrical telegraph which allows a total of four separate signals to be transmitted and received on a single wire at the same time.
- Incandescent light bulb- his light bulb was the first that proved practical, and affordable, for home illumination.
- Carbon microphone
- Movie camera
- Electric power distribution
- Mimeograph
Awards
He achieved great success in his inventions which won him admiration, respect and various coveted awards like:
- Technical grammy award
- Franklin medal
- Edward Longstreth medal
- Grammy trustees award
- matteucci medal
- congressional gold medal
- Rumford prize
- JohnScottt legacy medal and premium
- Albert medal
‘Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration’- Thomas Edison
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