Thomas Alva Edison

Thomas Alva Edison picture (Wikipedia)

Well, I think everybody knows who is Thomas Alva Edison. Yes, he is the one who invented the light bulb. Thanks to him, now we can enjoy living in the ”brighter world”. Beside that, Thomas Alva Edison invented so many kinds of things that make me admire him. Thomas Alva Edison is my greatest hero, or maybe he is everyone’s hero.

Born in Milan, Ohio, on February 18, 1847 but Thomas Alva Edison was raised in Port Huron, Michigan. He was the last child of Samuel Ogden Edison Jr. and Nancy Matthews Edison nee Elliott, both of them were of Dutch origin. Actually little Edison seemed a little bit dumb. That made his mother decided to teach him by herself at home and it made him not want to disappoint his mom. And he kept his promise! Now, he was one of the greatest inventors in the world.

His life is not as great as his inventions. He was deaf, which was caused by the scarlet fever which he had suffered. When he was seven, his family moved to Port Huron and it made him to sell candies and newspapers or even vegetables to earn better income. After that, because he saved Jimmie Mackenzie, then Jimmie’s father trained him to be a telegraph operator. That’s why some of his inventions are related to telegraph things.

He had three children with Mary Stilwell, named Marion Estelle Edison, Thomas Alva Edison Jr., and William Leslie Edison. But, the hard time comes: Mary Edison died on August 9,1884. After that, Thomas Alva Edison decided to marry Mina Miller, who gave him three more children.

His first invention was the automatic repeater. Some of his famous inventions are light bulb, he perfected the phonograph and telegraph. Everybody knows that he had so many intellectual patented designs. But, he didn’t make all of that stuff, since he employed so many young inventors to work under his company, and all the stuff they made was patented on behalf of the name Edison. He died on October 18, 1931. With so many things that he invented, our life now becomes easier. It is also the main reason why I chose him as my hero. And another reason is because he never easily gives up to everything. Edison said that because he got so many failures in his life, so that he can be successful. For me, it means that if I wanna be successful, then I must try, no matter how many times I fail. He never gave up because he had a strong and considerable determination. From his figure, I learned to be a tough girl who never gives up upon any failures, but always tries to struggle and fight back.