Thomas Alva Edison

My hero is Thomas Edison. He is my hero because he made improvements to our lives by inventing. The light bulb, the stock ticker, and the phonograph are some of his more famous inventions. He also made improvements to the telegraph; he did this so he could become a telegraph operator. He was not very fast because of a hearing problem but wanted to try being a telegraph operator anyway.

Some of the things I admire about “Al” as he was called as a child are, includes the fact that he was an inventor, he never gave up even when things didn’t work, he asked a lot of questions and was not easily discouraged. He overcame many difficulties including significant a hearing problem. He was even asked not to attend school because he asked too many questions.

He said that none of his experiments were useless. He was a great inventor for his time; he patented 1,093 inventions.

Edison never gave up on any of his inventions, he would have to be certain something did not work before giving up. One of his most famous sayings is “a genius is ninety-nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration”. He differs from other heroes in that he didn’t play sports, he was not a wealthy person, and he didn’t get battle honors like many Greek heroes. He is in our history books as someone who changed the world by trying out new theories.

To be a hero in my eyes you have to invent something (even though it may not be useful), you have to be a good citizen, be kind to those around you, be honest, and be your own person. To me Thomas Avla Edison is all those things and that is why I chose him.