Thomas Edison

I chose Thomas Edison because I thought he invented the light bulb. However, he really improved the light bulb. He is also credited with improving several other inventions. Convincing people to use his inventions is how he really changed the world. Edison was successful because he worked very hard starting at a young age. Thomas Edison was an inventor who completely changed the world.

Edison's workaholic ways earned him 1093 patents in many countries like the U.S., U.K., France and Germany. Even as a child, Edison worked very hard. By age 12, he was selling snacks and newspapers to people on the trains. At age 14 he was publishing his own paper called the Weekly Herald. At age 15 he was working as a telegraph operator. Edison is credited with improving many machines. One of the most important improvements was to the telegraph. He made an automatic timer, so he didn't have to send messages in the middle of the night. Thomas Edison was well-known for his quotes. A lot of them had to do with working hard like, "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," and, "The three things that are most essential to achievement are common sense, hard work and stick-to-it-iv-ness."

Edison lit up the world when his electric light bulb shone for 40 hours straight. One of Edison's toughest accomplishments with the light bulb was finding a dependable filament. Edison tried more than 1600 materials including hair from a friend's beard. Finally, Edison found what did work, carbonized bamboo. Edison's light bulb was safer and more efficient than other light sources. Gas lamps flickered a lot and had a dangerous open flame. The old electric lights were too bright to be used in people's homes.

Without the invention of the light bulb the world wouldn't have as many good jokes...
How many college football players does it take to change a light bulb?
The entire team! And they all get a semester's credit for it.
How many egotists does it take to change a light bulb?
One. He holds onto the light bulb and waits for the world to revolve around him.

When war broke out in Europe, Edison tried to help the Navy. Edison had many ideas to help both the defense and offense at sea. Some of his ideas for defense were airplane detection, blocking torpedoes with nets and camouflaging ships. A few of his ideas for offense were increased power for torpedoes, faster turning for ships and destroying periscopes with machine guns. Edison convinced the Navy to use his alkaline storage batteries. They lasted longer and were safer than the lead-acid batteries currently being used. Edison analyzed records of ship traffic and ship sinkings. He recommended that ships spread out and use many ports in Europe. He also advised that ships enter and leave the English Channel only at night.

During Edison's 84 years (Feb. 11, 1847 to Oct. 18, 1931) the world changed greatly, mostly due to his own inventions. Edison moved around the U.S. a lot, but is remembered as the wizard of Menlo Park (New Jersey). Where would we be today without this wizard who worked on the light bulb, the telegraph, the motion picture camera, and batteries?