"Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration. Accordingly, a 'genius' is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework."
- Thomas Alva Edison
Today is 166th Birthday of Thomas Alva Edison
Born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, Thomas Edison is the quintessential American inventor. Before he died, he gave us the phonograph, the transmitter for the telephone speaker, an improved light bulb, and key elements of motion-picture apparatus, as well as other bright inventions. He also created the world's first industrial research laboratory. Edison died on October 18, 1931, in West Orange, New Jersey.
first successful light bulb model - December 1879 |
There's never been anyone like Edison with his 1,093 patents and his 'Invention Factory' in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he boasted he would invent something minor every ten days and a 'Big Trick' every six months. Here are Edison's ten best Big Tricks:
Tin Foil Phonograph |
ü Phonograph
ü Durable light bulb (40 hours)
ü Electrical Vote Recorder
ü Quadruplex, sextuplex and multiplex telegraph
ü Carbon microphone
ü Electricity distribution system
ü Stock ticker
ü Kinetograph (motion picture camera)
ü Kinetoscope (peep hole viewer)
Famous Quotes of Thomas Alva Edison
“Even though I am nearly deaf, I seem to be gifted with a kind of inner hearing which enables me to detect sounds and noises that the listeners do not perceive.”
“Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
“The dove is my emblem.... I want to save and advance human life, not destroy it....”
“If parents pass enthusiasm along to their children, they will leave them an estate of incalculable value....”