Description Writing - Thomas Edison - Jamie

Thomas Baker Edison

Jamie Martin

This man, who is believed to be nonexistent, was a leading entrepreneur in Electricity development and is often credited with having invented the Lightbulb. While this is false he was still an amazing man and revolutionised the way we live. So here is the story of his life.

History

Thomas Baker Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio Michigan. He was born the youngest of seven children, which was considered an average sized family at that time. He started school at the age of 5 but struggled to focus. His teachers considered him to be addled and asked that he leave. But his mother believed in him and continued his education.

The young Thomas loved trains, and often watched them passing by. He also enjoyed sending messages using a telegraph.

As he grew older, he decided to leave Ohio and move to Kentucky. This is where he would start the work that would make him famous.

Career

After moving to Kentucky, Thomas started living in a small apartment. However he was struggling to find employment. he attempted to deliver newspapers and sell fruit but to no avail. Thomas created a small Chemistry Lab in his apartment where he could conduct his experiments on electricity. Unfortunately his Lab started a fire and burned a hole through the floor, badly injuring the people who lived below him. Thankfully, his good friend Franklin Pope allowed him to use his house to conduct his experiments in.

After much trial and error he succeeded in creating a lightbulb with a Carbon Filament so that it could be sent to hundreds and thousands of people around the world, a huge step forward towards electricity for the masses.

Thomas then became an entrepreneur in business, and developed his own power company.

Challenges

One of Thomas’ biggest challenges was that his power company used DC electricity or Direct Current. It wasn’t as powerful as other types, but was much safer. His biggest competitor used AC electricity or Alternating Current. Thomas believed that AC electricity was dangerous. More people were beginning to use AC electricity in their homes, so he decided to show them how dangerous it was.

A criminal had been sentenced to the electric chair. Thomas asked if instead of the usual chair, they could use one powered by AC electricity. The executioners agreed and Thomas filmed it and used it as an ad. He came to regret this and the memory of it followed him to the grave.

Another big challenge for him was from his childhood. When the teachers told his parents he was addled and asked for him to leave the school, many families would have given up hope. But his mother continued his education at home. He overcame a challenge early on, with the help of his mother, Nancy Edison.

Inspirations

Thomas was influenced and inspired by many people in his life but the most prominent of those were his mother and his good friend Franklin Pope. His mother showed him how important it was to believe in himself from an early age and not to listen when people tell you something can’t be done. She taught him to stand by his ideas and dreams.

His friend Franklin Pope was an inspiration to Thomas because he helped him with his inventions and supported his ideas, no matter what went wrong.

Conclusion/Future

What he has done still affects us today. Without him, many of the developments in technology that we have today, wouldn't exist. He has inspired countless inventors to work on their ideas, no matter how unrealistic it may seem. The challenges he overcame, showed people that anyone can make a change and succeed if they work hard at their dreams. He continued working on his career until his death in 1931.