The Glowing Edison
Background Information:
Thomas Edison was a very intelligent and creative inventor. If it weren't for him, our society would be lacking many things that we find important today. A long time ago, his accomplishments would have been considered impossible, but the only impossible thing would be to forget him and what he's done. (Edison Biography).
On February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, Thomas Edison was born. He was the youngest of seven children, belonging to Samuel and Nancy Edison. Family often called him Al, after his middle name, Alva. His father was an exiled political activist and his mother, a great influence in his early life, was a school teacher. Due to his lack of success in school, his mother pulled him out and began
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He attended public school for a total of twelve weeks. He was prone to distraction, and labeled difficult by his teacher, which is what caused his mother to pull him out and teach him. When he reached eleven, he showed an appetite for knowledge, and read books on a wide range of subjects. He gained a process for self-education and learning independently, which would really turn out to help him later in his life. At age twelve, he decided to put some of his education to use. He convinced his parents to let him sell newspapers to passengers along a railroad line. Then, he began publishing his own newspaper called the Grand Trunk Herald, which was a hit with passengers. In a baggage car, he set up a small laboratory that he used to conduct chemical expirements. During one of them, he accidentally caught the car on fire and was kicked off the train, so he had to sell his newspapers at stations along the route. (Edison Biography).
While working for the railroad, an almost tragic event turned out to benefit him greatly. He saved a 3-year-old from getting hit by an errant train, and the child's father rewarded him by teaching him how to operate a telegraph. By age fifteen, he learned enough to be employed as a telegraph operator. For the next 5 years, Thomas traveled through the Midwest as a telegrapher, and subbed for those who had gone to the Civil War. (Thomas A. Edison