Thomas Edison once said “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”. Born on February 11, in Milan ,Ohio, 1847 Thomas Edison was both a businessman and inventor. He and his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, in 1854 where he attended public school for a total of 12 weeks. Thomas as a hyperactive child was easily distracted and considered “difficult” by his teacher, causing his mother, Nancy, who had been a teacher, to home school him after he got pulled out of school. Having very little formal education, his mother taught him everything from reading, and writing, to arithmetic. He showed a voracious appetite for knowledge, reading books on a wide range of subjects only at the age of 11, and at age 12, Edison …show more content…
Developed in Menlo Park, the tin foil phonograph was the first great invention. It was the first machine to create and reproduce sound. While working to improve the efficiency of a transmitter, he noted that the tape of the machine gave off a noise resembling spoken words when played at a high speed (Bellis). This caused him to wonder if he could record a telephone message. Thats when he started experimenting with the diaphragm of the telephone receiver by attaching a needle so it could prick paper tape to record a message. The first words recorded into the phonograph by Thomas were “Mary had a little lamb” ( First Phonograph). The machine had 2 needles, one for recording and one for playbacks. The phonograph had other uses, such as: letter writing and dictation, phonographic books for blind people, a family record (recording family members in their own voices), music boxes and toys, clocks that announce the time, and a connection with the telephone so communications could be recorded (Bellis). It was not only helpful for people at the time but it also inspired us to invent more. Alexander Graham Bell, who was also living in Boston at the time, was equally fascinated by this exciting new aspect of communication science. The principles surrounding it ultimately led to the invention of the first telephone (Thomas