Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He liked to read, experiment, and play tricks on people as a boy. He moved often, and didn't stay in school for long. He started to get jobs at age 12. Around that time Thomas became part deaf. At age 15 he learned how to use a telegraph.

In 1871 Thomas had married Mary Stilwell and had three children. In 1874 Thomas had invented the quadruplex, a telegraph that can send up to four messages on one line. During 1876 to 1877, Thomas invented the great phonograph. This was his favorite invention. He was nicknamed "Wizard of Menlo Park" where he his new lab was in Menlo Park, NJ. In the summer of 1879 Thomas invented one of the most know inventions of his, the light bulb.

In August, 1884 Edison’s wife had died. He remarried in February 24, 1886 to Mina Miller. The bought land in West Orange, N.J. Thomas built a new lab where many new inventions would come from. He invented the alkaline battery and Kinetograph. With the Kinetograph came silent movies and the "Black Maria" the first motion picture studio.

In October 18, 1931 Thomas Alva Edison had died. Thomas Edison had patented a total of 1,093 inventions, and there were still more inventions that wasn't patented. He was know around the United States and president Herbert Hoover had the people of America turn off their lights in honor of Thomas. Now his lab in West Orange, N.J. has become a museum.