Thomas Alva Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was a prolific American inventor born in Milan, Ohio. For a time, the family lived in Port Huron, Michigan. In 1859 Edison began working for the Grand Trunk Railroad, selling small items to passengers. He learned telegraphy and in 1862 became a telegraph operator. He traveled extensively and worked in many different cities around the country.

In 1868 Edison became an independent inventor in Boston, then moved to New York the following year and began working on inventions related to telegraphy and electromagnetism. His most well-known invention from this time is the quadruplex telegraph, which transmitted two signals simultaneously along one telegraph wire.

In 1876, Edison founded a combination research laboratory and machine shop in Menlo Park, New Jersey (an area near Newark). Here he created the phonograph and many other inventions and earned the nickname "the Wizard of Menlo Park."

In 1878 he began working on a system of incandescent lighting, which was tested first in New York City and eventually installed around the country and the world.