Thomas Alva Edison is one of America’s greatest inventors. He wrote books, was credited for a multitude of inventions, and held patents on them in multiple countries. With very little formal education, leaving school at age 12, he went on to become an elite mind. Though nearly deaf, he considered it an asset because it allowed him to concentrate on his experiments and work. He earned awards such as The Gold Medal for making so many machines that modernized the world. Most people know him as the man who lit up the world, however, his life’s accomplishments are so much more prodigious (History.com, “Thomas Edison”).
Edison made many contributions that were relevant to mass communications of his time, his first contributions being made as an adolescent.
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Most people know him for the invention of the incandescent light bulb. His main goal with this light bulb was to make it inexpensive and safe. Following his success with the light bulb, he built his first electrical station in New York in 1882. Four months later, he powered 5,000 lamps, printing presses and fans; by 1890, he powered 20,000. Amazingly, he accidentally discovered the materials to make cement while developing his milling operations (Encyclopedia.com, “Electrical Engineering”). Following this discovery, he made an automatic cement maker in 1889, which was used to construct landmarks such as the Yankee Stadium out of Edison cement. In 2008, when the stadium was closed down, it had been said that once the stadium’s chapter in history closed, so did one of Edison’s (Congress.gov, “Life of Thomas Alva …show more content…
He had 1,093 American patents and 1,239 foreign patents. The foreign patents were from 34 different countries. He had over 90 patents on the light bulb and 80 patents on the phonograph by 1890. He had patents on items in the military such as a ship-telephone system. He also created underwater search lights and smoke screen machines, which were used in warfare and in tactical defense. In 84 years he accumulated 2,332 patents on a multitude of machines. He held the record for the most successful patents of his time, many of which remain relevant today (Rutgers, “Edison’s