Biographies of Deaf & HoH Achievers
" target="_blank" title=http://www.myclassiclyrics.com/artist biographies/Thomas Edison Biography 2.jpg>Thomas Edison
(
) (1847-1931) was an American inventor who created many items that have vastly improved and influenced the lives of people all over the world.
Considered one of the most brilliant inventors in history, Edison held 1,093 U.S. patents, as well as other patents in countries like France, Germany and Britain.
Edison always attributed his deafness to a bout of scarlet fever during childhood, and to recurring and untreated middle ear infections. Edison did tell several stories over the years about being struck on the ears by a train conductor who became enraged when the young Edison's chemical lab set fire to a boxcar he was a passenger in.
Edison actually lost one of his first jobs due to his interest in experimenting. In 1867, while working for the Associated Press wire news service, he accidentally dropped sulphuric acid onto the floor, where it proceeded to run through the wooden boards and drip onto his boss' desk below. He was fired the very next morning.
Edison's very first patent was for the electric vote recorder, which was granted on June 1, 1869.
Among Edison's most famous inventions:
- The phonograph in 1877.
- The first electric lamp in 1880
- The first carbon microphone in 1878, used in all telephones until the 1980's and in all radio broadcasting
- The first electric power distribution system in 1880
- The first Fluoroscope for taking radiographs - commonly known as 'X-Rays'.
- The first stock ticker
- The first motion picture camera in 1878, then called a 'Kinetograph'.
