Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

177

EDISON’S LABORATORY

Edison was one of the first inventors to

establish a research laboratory. He used a

team of experts and technicians to develop

ideas, which he would then improve upon.

Many large corporations later established

research laboratories like Edison’s.

MOVING PICTURES

In 1889, Edison helped found the motion

picture industry with the invention of the

kinetoscope, the first practical motion-

picture device that used a roll of film.

Viewers looked through a peephole to

see a series of images shown in rapid

succession, giving the impression

of continuous action. In

1893, Edison built a movie

studio called Black Maria,

the first building designed

for making movies.

1847 Born in Milan,
Ohio.

1869 Awarded his first
patent, for a voting
machine.

1877 Invents
the phonograph.

1879 Perfected electric
light bulb.

1882 His power station
is the world’s first.

1892 Forms General
Electric Company.

1900 Invents alkaline
storage battery.

1909 First commercially
successful phonograph.

1912 Edison produces
first movies.

1931 Dies in New Jersey.

THE MOST IMPORTANT INVENTOR in American history, Thomas

Alva Edison held 1,093 patents (legal rights) for inventions—the most ever

issued to one person. His most famous inventions included electric lighting,

the phonograph, and key improvements to the telegraph, telephone, and

moving pictures. Edison said that “genius is

2 percent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration”;

this kind of persistence led to his greatest work.

Edison surrounded himself with a team of

talented engineers, mechanics, and craftsmen,

creating one of the first research laboratories.

He was also a legendary businessman, and

raised money to develop his products.

Edison (left) displays

his phonograph.

Earpiece

Mouthpiece

Edison, Thomas

EDISON

Black Maria, Edison’s

movie studio

This wall-mounted

telephone was invented

by Thomas Edison in 1879.

WIZARD OF MENLO PARK

Edison opened a laboratory at Menlo

Park, New Jersey, in 1876, where he worked

full-time on his inventions. His favorite

invention was the phonograph, which

Edison called a “talking machine.” Its crank

turned a sharp point around a cylinder. The

user turned the crank while speaking to

cut a pattern of grooves into

the foil. When a needle

was moved back over the

cylinder, the machine

replayed the voice.

EDISON AND THE TELEPHONE

Although Alexander Graham Bell

patented the telephone, Edison

made crucial improvements to his

friend’s design by adding a carbon

transmitter that made a speaker’s

voice louder and clearer, and a

separate receiver to cut out static.

Electricity 181-

Movies

Telephones

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EDISON’S ELECTRIC LIGHT

In 1878, Edison began research on electric

lighting. By the following year, he had created

an incandescent light bulb (above), which

produced light by passing electricity through

a filament (wire) to make it glow. Once he

had perfected the bulb, he worked to

develop electric power stations to provide

electricity to homes. The first station opened

in 1882; by the 1890s, Edison’s power

stations lit hundreds of cities.