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Thomas Edison: A Life from Beginning to End
Thomas Edison * * *Download for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free BONUS Inside!* * * Read On Your Computer, MAC, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet. Thomas Edison passed on many decades ago, but his inventions still echo loudly through time. If you watch TV, listen to your favorite songs, or simply click on the lamp next to your bed, it was Thomas Edison who brought all of these innovations into the world. Inside you will read about... ✓ Edison's Early Life ✓ The Electric Light ✓ The War of the Currents ✓ Other Inventions and Projects ✓ Final Years and Death ✓ Edison's Legacy And much more! Edison is sometimes regarded as someone who loved arguing with other inventors who were going in different directions from him, yet his tenacity and dedication to his own work were what made so many of his inventions workable. No matter which way you look at Edison, from failed businessman, renowned inventor, distant father to his children, or to an argumentative scientist, there is one thing everyone can agree on; Thomas Edison was pure genius. After all, in his world, nothing less would do. Series Biographies of Business Leaders Book 1
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 7, 2017
370 people are currently reading
812 people want to read
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Hourly History
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
December 20, 2021
The book shows us enough of how messy it all was behind the scenes...
(Hourly History, "Thomas Edison," Kindle Ed., 2017, p. 16)
...This was the very first incandescent light ready for commercial use. On New Year's Eve Edison demonstrated this newly improved incandescent bulb, telling everyone at Menlo Park who witnessed the illumination that “we will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles...”
This is now the world we live in that the famous Americans like Thomas Edison or his old employee and friend Henry Ford created.
Entr’/ Intr’o-duct’ion
The book is en-/ in-form'ative with lots of useful lessons while it is short and easy to flip through the pages.
Yet, it exhibits quite a lot of errors while it's got its price tag on it, therefore it can’t really win more than a three-star rate until it is thoroughly revised and edited.
Thomas Edison was, just like his old friend and employee Henry Ford, a complicated man with great achievements, but also with many shortcomings: He was a Human just like us.
Despite his shortcomings, he was indeed open-minded yet stubborn towards challenges: He just embraced and faced them head on without avoiding them.
Yes, he was daring and en-/ in-n'ov-at'ive facing fear and hardships straight on unlike us the normal people, and after all that special quality of his made him the man we remember today with all his success and fame we want without suffering from trying hard in fear like he did.
1. Informative or Helpful Tips from the Stor'y
Self-educated:
(Kindle Ed., p. 5)
In time, Edison read his way through his father's extensive library. Then he applied to be a newsboy, selling newspapers on the trains which ran from Port Huron to Detroit.
Is that a coincidence that many of the most prominent and successful start-up founders or CEOs are either self-educated, Open University graduates (meaning they started studying for "official" degrees after they had built up their fames in their careers) or voluntarily left their stable school lives like Bill Gates?
And this 2019-interview with Robert Kiyosaki tells us why.
Public education suuuuuucks! I don't have to keep talking about the Galilei example, right?
This self-learned man, Thomas Edison, had to open up his own business too because the public education was too slow and blind to see his value just like Jack Ma's case in our days, and that’s why they kind of had to start up their own businesses and became the leaders like Elon Musk had to be.
The Secret of Life is kind of a rule for the people of will:
Interview: Steve Jobs.
(Ibid., p. 36)
Edison, unlike other inventors of his day, did not do all of this alone. His genius lay in hiring only the very best assistants, many of whom stayed with him for decades; these men knew Edison well and were adapted to his work schedules and quirks. Some, like Nikola Tesla would come and go quickly.
Ironically, a good friend of Edison's later life Henry Ford was, too, had left Edison, and that's why he was meant to be a leader of his own empire.
(Ibid., p. 16)
When Edison had gone on vacation with other members of his scientific team to witness the total eclipse of the sun in Wyoming in 1878, he had been fishing with a bamboo pole. While figuring out which element worked best in his improved light bulb, Edison remembered the strands of the bamboo on the fishing pole. Even while away from the office, Edison was constantly working.
Just like Leonardo da Vinci and He whom you know ([pro-]grammatically "correct" English sounds funny lol).
(Ibid., p. 24)
By the 1890s Edison's attacks against Westinghouse and the Thomson-Houston Company were not very popular with his stockholders. AC power was winning the day as Edison's company was hauling in lesser profits than the AC companies. By 1892 the worst had happened. Thomas Edison had been forced out of control of his company. With the help of the tycoon J.P. Morgan, Edison General Electric was merged with the Thomson-Houston Company to become General Electric. They now controlled three-quarters of the US electrical business...
So the foundation of GE was due to Edison's trouble. Very informative. We don't learn this at school. You all know what they teach us about Edison at school...that's how much our public education suuuuuuuuks.
(Ibid., pp. 35-36)
Edison was certainly adept at marketing inventions, the light bulb being a prime example of those skills. He didn't so much as “invent” the light bulb, but he knew how to market it better than his competitors. Throughout his long career, he created many businesses; his patents were licensed, his products were manufactured, equipment was built, and whole industries sprang up where once there was nothing...
Personally, "this" is the best lesson I need to learn from him: His "marketing" skills.
(Ibid., p. 47)
What set Edison apart from so many other inventors and scientists was that he was able to figure out something from its very inception, then move it through the patent stage where research was performed, all the way to the development and marketing of that particular invention. Many of his contemporaries never stayed with a project as he did. Edison would involve himself in all stages of his inventions.
And "this" is why we remember him as the inventor of the light bulb while he wasn't really: His "marketing" efforts.
(Ibid., p. 35)
From the moment Edison marketed his light bulb over all the others that had come before him, his name would become a household name throughout the world. He would always be known as a man of great innovation, a spark of genius, determination, and quality.
Yeah, it is always that “one” crucial shot, so Edison’s patience finally paid off! Yet, I can't help myself wondering...was that really Thomas Edison himself who act'ually en-/ in-vented the light bulb that gave him the fame, or someone else in his lab?
(Ibid., pp. 24-25)
But by the time General Electric was founded in 1892, the Westinghouse Company was awarded the contract to light up Niagara Falls. This was done with the help of Nikola Tesla, whom Edison had treated so badly. Regardless of all the lawsuits and company mergers, Edison's star still shined brightly. The public could not think badly of him. He had closed up his research laboratories in Menlo Park and opened a new facility in West Orange, New Jersey. It would be from here that Edison started working on something besides electric lights. And this invention would bring enchantment to the world.
Edison’s greatness for all the success and fame was not to give up after all the hardships and set-backs. Nonetheless, His biggest mistake was to have made people like Tesla and Ford leave him. So it was Edison pushing the two away from him that really created the two other giant names.
2. Lessons We Learn from Tom’s Shortcomings or Mistakes
(Kindle Ed., p. 4)
Early in his childhood, Edison developed hearing problems. He suffered from scarlet fever and had recurring ear infections. But, Edison would in the coming years recount various stories as to how his deafness came to be. He recounted how he was thrown off a train with his chemical laboratory when a boxcar caught fire. In later years, he changed the story when he said the conductor had pulled him onto the train by his ears. Most likely, recurrent ear infections from swimming in the dirty waters around Milan was the reason his hearing started to fail.
He was honest to himself, but not so much to others. If he had been living in our time he would definitely have been in trouble before the public to be labelled as a liar who made up stories about himself and falsely accused others without e-vid'ence.
(Ibid., p. 22)
In 1884, Edison was visited by a young Croatian man, named Nikola Tesla. This well-dressed gentleman carried a letter of introduction from Charles Batchelor. Tesla had recently emigrated from France and was looking for work in the U.S. He was in luck, and Edison hired Tesla to work at redesigning the company’s direct current generators. Tesla recounted how Edison had offered him a $50,000 bonus if he could successfully improve the generators. Tesla completed the work quickly, but when he asked for his money, Edison told him “you don't understand American humor.” But Edison did offer Tesla a $10 per week raise. Tesla promptly quit. But, the conflicts were far from over.
Hmm...maybe the same reason why Ford quit too. Edison was stingy. And see how they were actually done by his employees, not by himself. Yet, all the patents were acknowledged in his name.
(Ibid., p. 35)
As the years went by, hundreds of companies would come to carry his name, even though they had no affiliation with Edison whatsoever. As early as the 1890s, Edison filed a lawsuit against The Edison Chemical Company, which wasn't associated with him at all. Another businessman with the same last name had named his company thus.
We are talking about the "legal" issues, right? But was it, and still is, really okay that the boss with the legal business name and number takes all the credit of a discovery or invention of his or her employee just because that "legal" contract on a paper says so?
(Ibid., pp. 11-12)
Often Edison would gather his research assistants around him for what we would consider 'brainstorming' sessions. These were intense discussions which he attended for the most part. Edison chose to work on what he wanted when he wanted, and he chose how to conduct his research. Employees worked six days a week Monday through Saturday, eight hours a day. Of course, if the boss stayed late, they stayed late. There were times when he would work through the night and all the next day, expecting his employees to follow suit. Because his staff had grown so large, Edison had the means to work on more than one invention at a time. Depending on how interested he was in each invention, Edison would be right there with his assistants taking part in endless experiments. Edison was adept at hiring only the best assistants for his creative endeavors. One such assistant was William Joseph Hammer, who started working for Edison in 1879. Hammer assisted in experiments during the development of the telephone, iron ore separator, phonograph, electric lighting and electric railway. Hammer worked primarily on the incandescent electric lamp and was Edison's main man for all of the tests and data for the lightbulb. Another of Edison's key associates was Charles W. Batchelor, a mechanic who would become one of Edison’s closest friends and associates. It would be Batchelor who would introduce Nikola Tesla to Edison in the coming years.
Is that really moral with Human conscience that the boss doesn't even share the fame with the actual inventors or discoverers under his "legal" author'ity? It is like he wrote everything while the ideas were actually from his apprentices and employees.
It's still the same today. It sounds a lot like a serious "error" we must work on to make this world a better place.
Speaking of which, why don't we start talking about the errors that require editing in this book?
3. The Book is Incomplete.
(Kindle Ed., p. 3)
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Prior to the Civil War, America was a vastly different place from the country that it is today. After the initial years of American independence and the wars that followed, America was now on a path to prosperity.
Wait, what? Is it just me or this paragraph sounds really awkward? How's this after an editing work?
I only put a little change in the last line:
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Prior to the Civil War, America was a vastly different place from the country that it is today. After the initial years of American independence and the wars that followed, however, America was actually on a path to prosperity and transformation.
(Ibid., p. 8)
...In those years it was quite common for doctors to prescribe morphine to women for various reasons. Judging by some of her symptoms, it would appear as if she had succumbed to a morphine overdose
Where is the period? BTW, the lines tell something sæm'/ sim'ilar to these days: "...In these days it is quite common for doctors to recommend COVID-19 vaccines to the people for various reasons like their ignorance about the vaccines' future side effects, their relations with the pharmaceutical tycoons and politicians..."
(Ibid., p. 12)
Over 1,000 patents hold the name of Thomas Alva Edison...As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by his inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would benefit from all of their successes.
No wonder Henry Ford chose to leave Edison, and I bet his experience gave him the idea of high salary for the 5 days a week.
Anyways, the earlier and later lines don't match. An editing work is needed.
Correction:
As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by "their" inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison (He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants). As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would "finally" benefit from all of their successes.
or
Edison was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, however, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by "their" inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would "finally" benefit from all of their successes.
Again, considering how many employees there were working for him, it doesn't sound fair that every single patent was registered with his name under it. And there the value of this book lies. It tells the people who only remember Thomas Edison other names like Charles W. Batchelor and many more.
(Ibid., p. 17)
...They stipulated that it had been based on the work of one William E. Sawyer...
Correction:
...They stipulated that it had been based on one of the works of William E. Sawyer...
or simply
...They stipulated that it had been based on the work of William E. Sawyer...
(Ibid., p. 17)
In October of 1889, a judge ruled that Edison's electric light claim which is based on a filament of carbon of high resistance was valid...
Sounds kind of weird.
Correction:
...In October of 1889, a judge ruled that Edison's electric light claim which is based on the carbon filament with high resistance was valid...
(Ibid., p. 18)
...and all during that decade, Edison patented a design for electrical power and its safe distribution of his light bulb.
Is it just me or the line really sounds kind of weird? Please edit the book at least one more time.
(Ibid., p. 18)
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station was opened in London, England...
Why the passive? Just:
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station opened in London, England...
or
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station was open in London, England...
Con-clos’/ -clus’ion
(Ibid., p. 40)
President Hoover urged all citizens to extinguish their lights at ten p.m. as a tribute to Edison. The president is quoted as saying “this demonstration of the dependence of the country upon electrical current for its life and health is in itself a monument to Mr. Edison's genius.” For one minute on that fateful day, most of the country did go dark...
Although it might sound inhumane against conscience in many layers, his was the way for the majority and the society as a whole.
(Ibid., pp. 40-41)
Edison's estate was not as large as some people would think. It was estimated to be around $12 million, which in its day was an immense amount of money. Edison died at the height of the Great Depression, and by the time his will was probated, there was maybe $1.5 million left. As for his surviving companies, they didn't do so well either. Thomas A. Edison Inc. did eventually merge with the McGraw Electric Company of Chicago. The name changed to McGraw-Edison. Unlike his friends, Edison had a paltry few million compared to their rich endowments of one hundred million or more. Many of their personal savings were in the tens of millions as well. Most of Edison's savings were always plugged back into his companies during his lifetime.
So this was his real face after all. This complicated man was indeed a great Human Being, who has pr'actically contributed to a great Human progress unlike many of us who have only complained about the inconvenience around us without act'ually making it better.
Despite the short length, the book shows us enough of how messy it all was behind the scenes, which has always been the real world and our daily lives. And it tells the readers who only remember Thomas A. Edison other names like Charles W. Batchelor and many more.
If the author had the book edited one last time, the book would definitely be worth more than five stars.
(Hourly History, "Thomas Edison," Kindle Ed., 2017, p. 16)
...This was the very first incandescent light ready for commercial use. On New Year's Eve Edison demonstrated this newly improved incandescent bulb, telling everyone at Menlo Park who witnessed the illumination that “we will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles...”
This is now the world we live in that the famous Americans like Thomas Edison or his old employee and friend Henry Ford created.
Entr’/ Intr’o-duct’ion
The book is en-/ in-form'ative with lots of useful lessons while it is short and easy to flip through the pages.
Yet, it exhibits quite a lot of errors while it's got its price tag on it, therefore it can’t really win more than a three-star rate until it is thoroughly revised and edited.
Thomas Edison was, just like his old friend and employee Henry Ford, a complicated man with great achievements, but also with many shortcomings: He was a Human just like us.
Despite his shortcomings, he was indeed open-minded yet stubborn towards challenges: He just embraced and faced them head on without avoiding them.
Yes, he was daring and en-/ in-n'ov-at'ive facing fear and hardships straight on unlike us the normal people, and after all that special quality of his made him the man we remember today with all his success and fame we want without suffering from trying hard in fear like he did.
1. Informative or Helpful Tips from the Stor'y
Self-educated:
(Kindle Ed., p. 5)
In time, Edison read his way through his father's extensive library. Then he applied to be a newsboy, selling newspapers on the trains which ran from Port Huron to Detroit.
Is that a coincidence that many of the most prominent and successful start-up founders or CEOs are either self-educated, Open University graduates (meaning they started studying for "official" degrees after they had built up their fames in their careers) or voluntarily left their stable school lives like Bill Gates?
And this 2019-interview with Robert Kiyosaki tells us why.
Public education suuuuuucks! I don't have to keep talking about the Galilei example, right?
This self-learned man, Thomas Edison, had to open up his own business too because the public education was too slow and blind to see his value just like Jack Ma's case in our days, and that’s why they kind of had to start up their own businesses and became the leaders like Elon Musk had to be.
The Secret of Life is kind of a rule for the people of will:
Interview: Steve Jobs.
(Ibid., p. 36)
Edison, unlike other inventors of his day, did not do all of this alone. His genius lay in hiring only the very best assistants, many of whom stayed with him for decades; these men knew Edison well and were adapted to his work schedules and quirks. Some, like Nikola Tesla would come and go quickly.
Ironically, a good friend of Edison's later life Henry Ford was, too, had left Edison, and that's why he was meant to be a leader of his own empire.
(Ibid., p. 16)
When Edison had gone on vacation with other members of his scientific team to witness the total eclipse of the sun in Wyoming in 1878, he had been fishing with a bamboo pole. While figuring out which element worked best in his improved light bulb, Edison remembered the strands of the bamboo on the fishing pole. Even while away from the office, Edison was constantly working.
Just like Leonardo da Vinci and He whom you know ([pro-]grammatically "correct" English sounds funny lol).
(Ibid., p. 24)
By the 1890s Edison's attacks against Westinghouse and the Thomson-Houston Company were not very popular with his stockholders. AC power was winning the day as Edison's company was hauling in lesser profits than the AC companies. By 1892 the worst had happened. Thomas Edison had been forced out of control of his company. With the help of the tycoon J.P. Morgan, Edison General Electric was merged with the Thomson-Houston Company to become General Electric. They now controlled three-quarters of the US electrical business...
So the foundation of GE was due to Edison's trouble. Very informative. We don't learn this at school. You all know what they teach us about Edison at school...that's how much our public education suuuuuuuuks.
(Ibid., pp. 35-36)
Edison was certainly adept at marketing inventions, the light bulb being a prime example of those skills. He didn't so much as “invent” the light bulb, but he knew how to market it better than his competitors. Throughout his long career, he created many businesses; his patents were licensed, his products were manufactured, equipment was built, and whole industries sprang up where once there was nothing...
Personally, "this" is the best lesson I need to learn from him: His "marketing" skills.
(Ibid., p. 47)
What set Edison apart from so many other inventors and scientists was that he was able to figure out something from its very inception, then move it through the patent stage where research was performed, all the way to the development and marketing of that particular invention. Many of his contemporaries never stayed with a project as he did. Edison would involve himself in all stages of his inventions.
And "this" is why we remember him as the inventor of the light bulb while he wasn't really: His "marketing" efforts.
(Ibid., p. 35)
From the moment Edison marketed his light bulb over all the others that had come before him, his name would become a household name throughout the world. He would always be known as a man of great innovation, a spark of genius, determination, and quality.
Yeah, it is always that “one” crucial shot, so Edison’s patience finally paid off! Yet, I can't help myself wondering...was that really Thomas Edison himself who act'ually en-/ in-vented the light bulb that gave him the fame, or someone else in his lab?
(Ibid., pp. 24-25)
But by the time General Electric was founded in 1892, the Westinghouse Company was awarded the contract to light up Niagara Falls. This was done with the help of Nikola Tesla, whom Edison had treated so badly. Regardless of all the lawsuits and company mergers, Edison's star still shined brightly. The public could not think badly of him. He had closed up his research laboratories in Menlo Park and opened a new facility in West Orange, New Jersey. It would be from here that Edison started working on something besides electric lights. And this invention would bring enchantment to the world.
Edison’s greatness for all the success and fame was not to give up after all the hardships and set-backs. Nonetheless, His biggest mistake was to have made people like Tesla and Ford leave him. So it was Edison pushing the two away from him that really created the two other giant names.
2. Lessons We Learn from Tom’s Shortcomings or Mistakes
(Kindle Ed., p. 4)
Early in his childhood, Edison developed hearing problems. He suffered from scarlet fever and had recurring ear infections. But, Edison would in the coming years recount various stories as to how his deafness came to be. He recounted how he was thrown off a train with his chemical laboratory when a boxcar caught fire. In later years, he changed the story when he said the conductor had pulled him onto the train by his ears. Most likely, recurrent ear infections from swimming in the dirty waters around Milan was the reason his hearing started to fail.
He was honest to himself, but not so much to others. If he had been living in our time he would definitely have been in trouble before the public to be labelled as a liar who made up stories about himself and falsely accused others without e-vid'ence.
(Ibid., p. 22)
In 1884, Edison was visited by a young Croatian man, named Nikola Tesla. This well-dressed gentleman carried a letter of introduction from Charles Batchelor. Tesla had recently emigrated from France and was looking for work in the U.S. He was in luck, and Edison hired Tesla to work at redesigning the company’s direct current generators. Tesla recounted how Edison had offered him a $50,000 bonus if he could successfully improve the generators. Tesla completed the work quickly, but when he asked for his money, Edison told him “you don't understand American humor.” But Edison did offer Tesla a $10 per week raise. Tesla promptly quit. But, the conflicts were far from over.
Hmm...maybe the same reason why Ford quit too. Edison was stingy. And see how they were actually done by his employees, not by himself. Yet, all the patents were acknowledged in his name.
(Ibid., p. 35)
As the years went by, hundreds of companies would come to carry his name, even though they had no affiliation with Edison whatsoever. As early as the 1890s, Edison filed a lawsuit against The Edison Chemical Company, which wasn't associated with him at all. Another businessman with the same last name had named his company thus.
We are talking about the "legal" issues, right? But was it, and still is, really okay that the boss with the legal business name and number takes all the credit of a discovery or invention of his or her employee just because that "legal" contract on a paper says so?
(Ibid., pp. 11-12)
Often Edison would gather his research assistants around him for what we would consider 'brainstorming' sessions. These were intense discussions which he attended for the most part. Edison chose to work on what he wanted when he wanted, and he chose how to conduct his research. Employees worked six days a week Monday through Saturday, eight hours a day. Of course, if the boss stayed late, they stayed late. There were times when he would work through the night and all the next day, expecting his employees to follow suit. Because his staff had grown so large, Edison had the means to work on more than one invention at a time. Depending on how interested he was in each invention, Edison would be right there with his assistants taking part in endless experiments. Edison was adept at hiring only the best assistants for his creative endeavors. One such assistant was William Joseph Hammer, who started working for Edison in 1879. Hammer assisted in experiments during the development of the telephone, iron ore separator, phonograph, electric lighting and electric railway. Hammer worked primarily on the incandescent electric lamp and was Edison's main man for all of the tests and data for the lightbulb. Another of Edison's key associates was Charles W. Batchelor, a mechanic who would become one of Edison’s closest friends and associates. It would be Batchelor who would introduce Nikola Tesla to Edison in the coming years.
Is that really moral with Human conscience that the boss doesn't even share the fame with the actual inventors or discoverers under his "legal" author'ity? It is like he wrote everything while the ideas were actually from his apprentices and employees.
It's still the same today. It sounds a lot like a serious "error" we must work on to make this world a better place.
Speaking of which, why don't we start talking about the errors that require editing in this book?
3. The Book is Incomplete.
(Kindle Ed., p. 3)
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Prior to the Civil War, America was a vastly different place from the country that it is today. After the initial years of American independence and the wars that followed, America was now on a path to prosperity.
Wait, what? Is it just me or this paragraph sounds really awkward? How's this after an editing work?
I only put a little change in the last line:
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Prior to the Civil War, America was a vastly different place from the country that it is today. After the initial years of American independence and the wars that followed, however, America was actually on a path to prosperity and transformation.
(Ibid., p. 8)
...In those years it was quite common for doctors to prescribe morphine to women for various reasons. Judging by some of her symptoms, it would appear as if she had succumbed to a morphine overdose
Where is the period? BTW, the lines tell something sæm'/ sim'ilar to these days: "...In these days it is quite common for doctors to recommend COVID-19 vaccines to the people for various reasons like their ignorance about the vaccines' future side effects, their relations with the pharmaceutical tycoons and politicians..."
(Ibid., p. 12)
Over 1,000 patents hold the name of Thomas Alva Edison...As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by his inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would benefit from all of their successes.
No wonder Henry Ford chose to leave Edison, and I bet his experience gave him the idea of high salary for the 5 days a week.
Anyways, the earlier and later lines don't match. An editing work is needed.
Correction:
As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by "their" inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison (He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants). As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would "finally" benefit from all of their successes.
or
Edison was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, however, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by "their" inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. As his companies were created, such as the Edison Lamp Company, the Edison Machine Works, and the Edison Electric Light Company, his assistants would "finally" benefit from all of their successes.
Again, considering how many employees there were working for him, it doesn't sound fair that every single patent was registered with his name under it. And there the value of this book lies. It tells the people who only remember Thomas Edison other names like Charles W. Batchelor and many more.
(Ibid., p. 17)
...They stipulated that it had been based on the work of one William E. Sawyer...
Correction:
...They stipulated that it had been based on one of the works of William E. Sawyer...
or simply
...They stipulated that it had been based on the work of William E. Sawyer...
(Ibid., p. 17)
In October of 1889, a judge ruled that Edison's electric light claim which is based on a filament of carbon of high resistance was valid...
Sounds kind of weird.
Correction:
...In October of 1889, a judge ruled that Edison's electric light claim which is based on the carbon filament with high resistance was valid...
(Ibid., p. 18)
...and all during that decade, Edison patented a design for electrical power and its safe distribution of his light bulb.
Is it just me or the line really sounds kind of weird? Please edit the book at least one more time.
(Ibid., p. 18)
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station was opened in London, England...
Why the passive? Just:
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station opened in London, England...
or
...Earlier that year, a steam-generated power station was open in London, England...
Con-clos’/ -clus’ion
(Ibid., p. 40)
President Hoover urged all citizens to extinguish their lights at ten p.m. as a tribute to Edison. The president is quoted as saying “this demonstration of the dependence of the country upon electrical current for its life and health is in itself a monument to Mr. Edison's genius.” For one minute on that fateful day, most of the country did go dark...
Although it might sound inhumane against conscience in many layers, his was the way for the majority and the society as a whole.
(Ibid., pp. 40-41)
Edison's estate was not as large as some people would think. It was estimated to be around $12 million, which in its day was an immense amount of money. Edison died at the height of the Great Depression, and by the time his will was probated, there was maybe $1.5 million left. As for his surviving companies, they didn't do so well either. Thomas A. Edison Inc. did eventually merge with the McGraw Electric Company of Chicago. The name changed to McGraw-Edison. Unlike his friends, Edison had a paltry few million compared to their rich endowments of one hundred million or more. Many of their personal savings were in the tens of millions as well. Most of Edison's savings were always plugged back into his companies during his lifetime.
So this was his real face after all. This complicated man was indeed a great Human Being, who has pr'actically contributed to a great Human progress unlike many of us who have only complained about the inconvenience around us without act'ually making it better.
Despite the short length, the book shows us enough of how messy it all was behind the scenes, which has always been the real world and our daily lives. And it tells the readers who only remember Thomas A. Edison other names like Charles W. Batchelor and many more.
If the author had the book edited one last time, the book would definitely be worth more than five stars.
January 8, 2018
I short review wich inevitably leaves out quite a lot but a good introduction to the incredible genius of the man.
June 1, 2022
Well written, succinct account.
***
Introduction
"We all know about the lightbulb-over-the-head cartoon. Everyone has seen it. It denotes an idea. If you're old enough, you probably think immediately about the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison.
"There's one small problem with that thought, however; Edison did not truly invent the lightbulb. Many inventors before him had invented incandescent bulbs, but they went no further than to demonstrate how light can produce electricity.
"Edison improved on the lightbulb, so much so that his patent made it possible to market it everywhere. That was the genius of Thomas Alva Edison. He has become America's most famous inventor. That is due to the fact that Edison didn't merely invent things, he stepped into the world of business and marketed them as well.
"Edison developed many devices that would influence life all around the world. Where would we be today without motion pictures or music caught on CD or DVD? It was Edison who came up with the idea of the phonograph, which inevitably led to our modern digital devices.
"Most ingenious of all, Edison applied the principles of mass production and incorporated teamwork on a large scale when it came to working on his inventions. This had never been done before. Edison and his team were granted over 1,000 patents, and most significant of all was what those patents meant to American life and to life all around the world.
"Suddenly, Americans had lots of leisure time, and many were looking for new ways to fill up those empty hours. What could be better than to visit a movie theater or buy a phonograph and all the newest records? No longer were people forced to bed when it grew dark; now people everywhere were staying up all night long because electric lights and electric-power distribution were available.
"Let us have a look at this remarkable inventor and businessman, Thomas Edison. The next time you pass those high transmission towers or walk past an electrical grid station, know that once a long time ago, there was a man who wanted nothing more than to give you the best life you could have. One that has never before been seen or experienced in the dark centuries of long ago."
Wonder if this was published before the awareness about environmental disaster grew.
Simplest fact comes to mind about birds no longer getting sleep due to cities being so well lit. The more developed the region, the more light at night.
And bees are out of sync as well, leading to concern about effects on their roles in vegetation growth.
All this, apart from various other disasters, such as ocean life depleted due to greed of commercial fishing - and effects of pylons on health.
***
Edison's Early Life
"Within the large Edison brood, three siblings died very young and Edison's remaining brothers and sisters were much older than him, so he was raised as if he were an only child. His mother Nancy was a former schoolteacher and taught him at home. Edison learned from his father's extensive library which included the same political hotbed of ideas his father had practiced in Canada as well as books on chemistry and other sciences.
"Early in his childhood, Edison developed hearing problems. He suffered from scarlet fever and had recurring ear infections. But, Edison would in the coming years recount various stories as to how his deafness came to be. He recounted how he was thrown off a train with his chemical laboratory when a boxcar caught fire. In later years, he changed the story when he said the conductor had pulled him onto the train by his ears. Most likely, recurrent ear infections from swimming in the dirty waters around Milan was the reason his hearing started to fail.
"By 1854 business was failing in Milan, so Edison's family moved to Port Huron in Michigan. The canals had passed their shining moment in American history and were fast being replaced by the railroads.
" ... By the time he was fifteen, Edison was publishing his own newspaper, called the Weekly Herald, which he sold along with the other newspapers. ... "
"Being around train stations all the time, Edison became enthralled with telegraphy while watching the telegraph operators at each station. ... "
"After the Civil War had ended, Edison moved to Kentucky where he became an employee of Western Union. ... "
" ... Out of his knowledge of telegraphy came one of his earliest inventions, that of the stock ticker. Edison's very first patent was for a vote recorder which was granted on June 1, 1869."
***
Personal Life
"Sadly, in 1884, his wife Mary died at the mere age of 29. There has been speculation as to what killed her; some say a brain tumor, others say that it was a morphine overdose. In those years it was quite common for doctors to prescribe morphine to women for various reasons. Judging by some of her symptoms, it would appear as if she had succumbed to a morphine overdose"
"In later years, Edison spoke harshly of his two oldest sons. He felt they never amounted to much and whenever they would ask him for money, Edison would recall how they had done him no honor by remaining “absolute illiterates scientifically and otherwise.”
"Once his first wife died, Edison no longer did his work at Menlo Park. He moved his new family including his young wife Mina into their new home which was close to his new laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey."
Bad father?
***
Menlo Park
"By this time Edison had invented the quadruplex telegraph. He was going to sell the rights to it for about $5,000 but wasn't sure of the asking price, so he put it out for bid instead. The Western Union scooped it up for a smooth $10,000 much to Edison's surprise.
"Once he had this money in hand, it allowed him to establish his Menlo Park lab. This was the first lab of its kind to be set up specifically for technological innovation and improving his inventions. Edison is credited with most of the inventions created there; even though he had many employees to whom the credit could have gone, as they were responsible for much of the research."
" ... William Joseph Hammer, who started working for Edison in 1879. Hammer assisted in experiments during the development of the telephone, iron ore separator, phonograph, electric lighting and electric railway. Hammer worked primarily on the incandescent electric lamp and was Edison's main man for all of the tests and data for the lightbulb.
"Another of Edison's key associates was Charles W. Batchelor, a mechanic who would become one of Edison’s closest friends and associates. It would be Batchelor who would introduce Nikola Tesla to Edison in the coming years.
"As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by his inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. ... "
"The invention which would dub him “The Wizard of Menlo Park” in New Jersey would be the phonograph. Because Edison loved working on more than one project at a time, he was able to take ideas from one experiment and apply them someplace else. Because he liked moving his assistants around, Edison was able to come up with his first major invention; the phonograph.
"Previously he had been working on the carbon transmitter which would improve the telephone microphone. It was at this time that Edison realized that vibrations picked up by a carbon transmitter could be just as easily applied to a needle instead. This needle could use some sort of physical material to etch the vibrations on to."
***
The Electric Light
" ... Incandescent lamps had already been invented by people such as Humphry Davy, James Bowman Lindsay, Moses G. Farmer, William E. Sawyer, Joseph Swan and Heinrich Gobel. These inventions had all proven useless with their many flaws."
"Edison had formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with the help of financial backing from J.P. Morgan and members of the Vanderbilt family. ... "
" ... What Edison and his researchers were able to do was to produce a bulb which burned for 13 1/2 hours. ... "
" ... Additional experiments would produce a carbonized bamboo filament that would burn for over one thousand hours."
" ... In 1882, the Mahen Theatre in Brno, Czech Republic, was the first public building in the world to use Edison's electric lamps. ... "
Was it, then, Czech Republic, or even Czechoslovakia? Or was it all still part of Austria-Hungary?
***
The War of the Currents
" ... Edison was a firm believer that AC power was unworkable. AC power depended on high voltages, and Edison said it would never be feasible. By 1886 the Westinghouse Company was fully involved in bringing an AC power distribution system to its customers. Edison began hitting back. He stated that within six months Westinghouse would end up killing a customer after installing their AC system into their home or business. Edison believed there was much work left to be done on the Westinghouse electrical lighting system."
" ... Edison Electric had based their entire design on low-voltage direct current (DC). They had already installed over 100 systems and to change now was absolutely out of the question. The Westinghouse Company was taking over the electric light business; Edison was fast losing out. ... "
"In 1884, Edison was visited by a young Croatian man, named Nikola Tesla. This well-dressed gentleman carried a letter of introduction from Charles Batchelor. Tesla had recently emigrated from France and was looking for work in the U.S. He was in luck, and Edison hired Tesla to work at redesigning the company’s direct current generators.
"Tesla recounted how Edison had offered him a $50,000 bonus if he could successfully improve the generators. Tesla completed the work quickly, but when he asked for his money, Edison told him “you don't understand American humor.” But Edison did offer Tesla a $10 per week raise. Tesla promptly quit. But, the conflicts were far from over."
"By the spring of 1888, there had been accidental deaths attributed to the high-voltage current running through high wires. The media picked up on the dangers of AC electricity immediately. This was the perfect time for Edison to start his AC fear-mongering campaign."
"With the help of the tycoon J.P. Morgan, Edison General Electric was merged with the Thomson-Houston Company to become General Electric. They now controlled three-quarters of the US electrical business and would be the competition Westinghouse needed to beat them at their game."
"But by the time General Electric was founded in 1892, the Westinghouse Company was awarded the contract to light up Niagara Falls. This was done with the help of Nikola Tesla, whom Edison had treated so badly."
***
Let's Go to the Movies
"By 1888 Edison was working on a device that would “do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear.” He was granted a patent for a motion picture camera or what came to be called the “kinetograph”. He left the bulk of the development to his chief photographer William Dickson while Edison worked on the electromechanical design. In fact, the design of the camera actually belongs to Dickson."
" ... Dickson started creating short films for the general public. Another Edison assistant saw the commercial value in producing such works. It was Tate who purchased a shoe shop on Broadway in New York City and turned the shop into the first kinetoscope parlor. Because the 10 machines that were delivered there didn't have coin slots, he printed up paper tickets for admission. These became the first movie tickets."
"Edison refused at first to be drawn into a projector project. ... He was quoted as saying that where the motion picture projector was concerned “there will be a use for maybe 10 of them in the whole United States.” ... "
"Without Edison's knowledge or approval, Dickson began working on a projection system of his own along with other entrepreneurs. When Edison got wind of this, Dickson resigned. Who owned what, and whose property rights the projection system belonged to was the source of numerous lawsuits over the ensuing years."
"Edison became the head of his own movie studio. Over time the movie studio made almost 1,200 movies. Most of these were short films and gave the public a little of everything; from parades to acrobats to fire engines. There were titles such as Fred Ott's Sneeze (1894), The Kiss (1896), The Great Train Robbery (1903), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910) and the first Frankenstein film in 1910.
"When the owners of Luna Park in Coney Island, New York announced they were going to execute Topsy the elephant by electrocution, strangulation, and poisoning, Edison's Studios sent a film crew to catch it all on film. In 1904 the movie Electrocuting an Elephant was released."
"In 1908 Edison started the Motion Pictures Patent Company which brought together nine major motion picture studios. The motion picture industry was in its infancy during these years, and if Edison had seen its potential and all it offered to society in general, all his money problems could have been swept under the rug.
"In the end, he lost interest in this new device and didn't turn to it again until there was a need to blend pictures with sound. Even then, he believed talking pictures “spoiled everything” for him. Still, he had a favorite movie (The Birth of a Nation) and his favorite actors were Mary Pickford and Clara Bow."
***
Other Inventions and Projects
" ... Once Edison realized he wasn't going to win the Current Wars, he turned his attention elsewhere. In the 1880s, he developed a means of separating iron ore using magnets.
"Once Edison had received money for stepping away from his company General Electric, he used the capital to buy an iron ore mine in northern New Jersey in Ogdensburg. ... "
"In time, huge reserves of iron ore were discovered in the Mesabi Range in northeastern Minnesota. Edison realized at that point that his small iron ore operation was doomed. The ore in Minnesota was easily mined and close to shipping facilities. Combine that with the falling prices of iron ore and Edison's magnetic extractors were no longer feasible."
" ... In the late 1890s, he began experimenting with various materials that would be visible in an x-ray. By 1900 he had invented a fluoroscope that could be manufactured commercially. Edison was using calcium tungstate because this element produced the brightest images on the screen.
"But, just a few short years later, Edison left off with his fluoroscopy inventions. Clarence Dally, who was one of Edison's assistants in the lab suffered radiation poisoning from repeated exposure to x-rays; he would eventually die from aggressive cancer. Even Edison damaged one of his eyes with his repeated fluoroscope experiments."
"Later on, in the 1920s, Edison joined up with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford to create the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, constructing a lab in Fort Myers, Florida where they conducted rubber experiments. At the time the U.S. was getting its bulk of rubber from countries overseas. Edison wanted to find a way to cultivate rubber in the U.S.
"Unlike other experiments, Edison did the majority of the research and planting. He would send soil samples back to his headquarters in West Orange, NJ for further evaluation of the sample rubber residues. His methods were based on a two-part acid-based extraction; latex was derived from the plant material after it was dried and crushed down to powder form. It would take about 17,000 plant samples before Edison could say he found success in the Leavenworth Goldenrod plant."
***
Edison's Later Public Life
"As the years went by, hundreds of companies would come to carry his name, even though they had no affiliation with Edison whatsoever. As early as the 1890s, Edison filed a lawsuit against The Edison Chemical Company, which wasn't associated with him at all. Another businessman with the same last name had named his company thus.
"Edison was certainly adept at marketing inventions, the light bulb being a prime example of those skills. He didn't so much as “invent” the light bulb, but he knew how to market it better than his competitors. Throughout his long career, he created many businesses; his patents were licensed, his products were manufactured, equipment was built, and whole industries sprang up where once there was nothing."
" ... His genius lay in hiring only the very best assistants, many of whom stayed with him for decades; these men knew Edison well and were adapted to his work schedules and quirks. Some, like Nikola Tesla would come and go quickly.
"Beginning in the 1870s and 1880s Edison created and ran companies that established him as the primary producer and distributor of incandescent lights. It wasn't just the light bulb which was manufactured. There were companies that produced wires, insulators, connectors, sockets and the equipment to produce all of these. Edison was also right there when it came to producing current and how it was distributed to customers.
"Additionally, Edison had his network of companies that would conduct his research, develop products, research new markets, build systems, as well as collect the fees that went along with providing electric lights to homes and businesses. Most of these companies would become the General Electric Company, and because Edison stubbornly refused to stay out of a war of currents, he lost control of his company, as well as all of the patents that went with it."
***
Final Years and Death
“I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun.”
"—Thomas Edison"
"Edison lived near to Henry Ford in their Fort Myers, Florida community. The two men had met years before when Ford worked as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company way back in the 1890s. Edison and Ford became good friends in their later years, usually taking yearly motor camping trips from 1914 to 1924.
"Edison continued to work when most men would have been long retired. In 1928 Edison brought direct current power to the Lackawanna Railroad when they introduced an overhead catenary system. This was the cable running along the track above the train from which the wire is suspended.
"When the first train of this kind left the Hoboken, NJ train station, Edison was at its helm. This particular set of train cars would run in northern New Jersey for the next 54 years until they were retired in 1984.
"When Europe entered into the First World War in 1914 Edison urged his fellow citizens to stay prepared. He believed that technology would be the future of war.
***
***
Introduction
"We all know about the lightbulb-over-the-head cartoon. Everyone has seen it. It denotes an idea. If you're old enough, you probably think immediately about the inventor of the lightbulb, Thomas Edison.
"There's one small problem with that thought, however; Edison did not truly invent the lightbulb. Many inventors before him had invented incandescent bulbs, but they went no further than to demonstrate how light can produce electricity.
"Edison improved on the lightbulb, so much so that his patent made it possible to market it everywhere. That was the genius of Thomas Alva Edison. He has become America's most famous inventor. That is due to the fact that Edison didn't merely invent things, he stepped into the world of business and marketed them as well.
"Edison developed many devices that would influence life all around the world. Where would we be today without motion pictures or music caught on CD or DVD? It was Edison who came up with the idea of the phonograph, which inevitably led to our modern digital devices.
"Most ingenious of all, Edison applied the principles of mass production and incorporated teamwork on a large scale when it came to working on his inventions. This had never been done before. Edison and his team were granted over 1,000 patents, and most significant of all was what those patents meant to American life and to life all around the world.
"Suddenly, Americans had lots of leisure time, and many were looking for new ways to fill up those empty hours. What could be better than to visit a movie theater or buy a phonograph and all the newest records? No longer were people forced to bed when it grew dark; now people everywhere were staying up all night long because electric lights and electric-power distribution were available.
"Let us have a look at this remarkable inventor and businessman, Thomas Edison. The next time you pass those high transmission towers or walk past an electrical grid station, know that once a long time ago, there was a man who wanted nothing more than to give you the best life you could have. One that has never before been seen or experienced in the dark centuries of long ago."
Wonder if this was published before the awareness about environmental disaster grew.
Simplest fact comes to mind about birds no longer getting sleep due to cities being so well lit. The more developed the region, the more light at night.
And bees are out of sync as well, leading to concern about effects on their roles in vegetation growth.
All this, apart from various other disasters, such as ocean life depleted due to greed of commercial fishing - and effects of pylons on health.
***
Edison's Early Life
"Within the large Edison brood, three siblings died very young and Edison's remaining brothers and sisters were much older than him, so he was raised as if he were an only child. His mother Nancy was a former schoolteacher and taught him at home. Edison learned from his father's extensive library which included the same political hotbed of ideas his father had practiced in Canada as well as books on chemistry and other sciences.
"Early in his childhood, Edison developed hearing problems. He suffered from scarlet fever and had recurring ear infections. But, Edison would in the coming years recount various stories as to how his deafness came to be. He recounted how he was thrown off a train with his chemical laboratory when a boxcar caught fire. In later years, he changed the story when he said the conductor had pulled him onto the train by his ears. Most likely, recurrent ear infections from swimming in the dirty waters around Milan was the reason his hearing started to fail.
"By 1854 business was failing in Milan, so Edison's family moved to Port Huron in Michigan. The canals had passed their shining moment in American history and were fast being replaced by the railroads.
" ... By the time he was fifteen, Edison was publishing his own newspaper, called the Weekly Herald, which he sold along with the other newspapers. ... "
"Being around train stations all the time, Edison became enthralled with telegraphy while watching the telegraph operators at each station. ... "
"After the Civil War had ended, Edison moved to Kentucky where he became an employee of Western Union. ... "
" ... Out of his knowledge of telegraphy came one of his earliest inventions, that of the stock ticker. Edison's very first patent was for a vote recorder which was granted on June 1, 1869."
***
Personal Life
"Sadly, in 1884, his wife Mary died at the mere age of 29. There has been speculation as to what killed her; some say a brain tumor, others say that it was a morphine overdose. In those years it was quite common for doctors to prescribe morphine to women for various reasons. Judging by some of her symptoms, it would appear as if she had succumbed to a morphine overdose"
"In later years, Edison spoke harshly of his two oldest sons. He felt they never amounted to much and whenever they would ask him for money, Edison would recall how they had done him no honor by remaining “absolute illiterates scientifically and otherwise.”
"Once his first wife died, Edison no longer did his work at Menlo Park. He moved his new family including his young wife Mina into their new home which was close to his new laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey."
Bad father?
***
Menlo Park
"By this time Edison had invented the quadruplex telegraph. He was going to sell the rights to it for about $5,000 but wasn't sure of the asking price, so he put it out for bid instead. The Western Union scooped it up for a smooth $10,000 much to Edison's surprise.
"Once he had this money in hand, it allowed him to establish his Menlo Park lab. This was the first lab of its kind to be set up specifically for technological innovation and improving his inventions. Edison is credited with most of the inventions created there; even though he had many employees to whom the credit could have gone, as they were responsible for much of the research."
" ... William Joseph Hammer, who started working for Edison in 1879. Hammer assisted in experiments during the development of the telephone, iron ore separator, phonograph, electric lighting and electric railway. Hammer worked primarily on the incandescent electric lamp and was Edison's main man for all of the tests and data for the lightbulb.
"Another of Edison's key associates was Charles W. Batchelor, a mechanic who would become one of Edison’s closest friends and associates. It would be Batchelor who would introduce Nikola Tesla to Edison in the coming years.
"As his laboratory in Menlo Park expanded, Edison gave his assistants shares in the various companies created by his inventions. In time his employees would earn far more from their shares than they ever did working for salary under Edison. He was notoriously known for underpaying his assistants. ... "
"The invention which would dub him “The Wizard of Menlo Park” in New Jersey would be the phonograph. Because Edison loved working on more than one project at a time, he was able to take ideas from one experiment and apply them someplace else. Because he liked moving his assistants around, Edison was able to come up with his first major invention; the phonograph.
"Previously he had been working on the carbon transmitter which would improve the telephone microphone. It was at this time that Edison realized that vibrations picked up by a carbon transmitter could be just as easily applied to a needle instead. This needle could use some sort of physical material to etch the vibrations on to."
***
The Electric Light
" ... Incandescent lamps had already been invented by people such as Humphry Davy, James Bowman Lindsay, Moses G. Farmer, William E. Sawyer, Joseph Swan and Heinrich Gobel. These inventions had all proven useless with their many flaws."
"Edison had formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with the help of financial backing from J.P. Morgan and members of the Vanderbilt family. ... "
" ... What Edison and his researchers were able to do was to produce a bulb which burned for 13 1/2 hours. ... "
" ... Additional experiments would produce a carbonized bamboo filament that would burn for over one thousand hours."
" ... In 1882, the Mahen Theatre in Brno, Czech Republic, was the first public building in the world to use Edison's electric lamps. ... "
Was it, then, Czech Republic, or even Czechoslovakia? Or was it all still part of Austria-Hungary?
***
The War of the Currents
" ... Edison was a firm believer that AC power was unworkable. AC power depended on high voltages, and Edison said it would never be feasible. By 1886 the Westinghouse Company was fully involved in bringing an AC power distribution system to its customers. Edison began hitting back. He stated that within six months Westinghouse would end up killing a customer after installing their AC system into their home or business. Edison believed there was much work left to be done on the Westinghouse electrical lighting system."
" ... Edison Electric had based their entire design on low-voltage direct current (DC). They had already installed over 100 systems and to change now was absolutely out of the question. The Westinghouse Company was taking over the electric light business; Edison was fast losing out. ... "
"In 1884, Edison was visited by a young Croatian man, named Nikola Tesla. This well-dressed gentleman carried a letter of introduction from Charles Batchelor. Tesla had recently emigrated from France and was looking for work in the U.S. He was in luck, and Edison hired Tesla to work at redesigning the company’s direct current generators.
"Tesla recounted how Edison had offered him a $50,000 bonus if he could successfully improve the generators. Tesla completed the work quickly, but when he asked for his money, Edison told him “you don't understand American humor.” But Edison did offer Tesla a $10 per week raise. Tesla promptly quit. But, the conflicts were far from over."
"By the spring of 1888, there had been accidental deaths attributed to the high-voltage current running through high wires. The media picked up on the dangers of AC electricity immediately. This was the perfect time for Edison to start his AC fear-mongering campaign."
"With the help of the tycoon J.P. Morgan, Edison General Electric was merged with the Thomson-Houston Company to become General Electric. They now controlled three-quarters of the US electrical business and would be the competition Westinghouse needed to beat them at their game."
"But by the time General Electric was founded in 1892, the Westinghouse Company was awarded the contract to light up Niagara Falls. This was done with the help of Nikola Tesla, whom Edison had treated so badly."
***
Let's Go to the Movies
"By 1888 Edison was working on a device that would “do for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear.” He was granted a patent for a motion picture camera or what came to be called the “kinetograph”. He left the bulk of the development to his chief photographer William Dickson while Edison worked on the electromechanical design. In fact, the design of the camera actually belongs to Dickson."
" ... Dickson started creating short films for the general public. Another Edison assistant saw the commercial value in producing such works. It was Tate who purchased a shoe shop on Broadway in New York City and turned the shop into the first kinetoscope parlor. Because the 10 machines that were delivered there didn't have coin slots, he printed up paper tickets for admission. These became the first movie tickets."
"Edison refused at first to be drawn into a projector project. ... He was quoted as saying that where the motion picture projector was concerned “there will be a use for maybe 10 of them in the whole United States.” ... "
"Without Edison's knowledge or approval, Dickson began working on a projection system of his own along with other entrepreneurs. When Edison got wind of this, Dickson resigned. Who owned what, and whose property rights the projection system belonged to was the source of numerous lawsuits over the ensuing years."
"Edison became the head of his own movie studio. Over time the movie studio made almost 1,200 movies. Most of these were short films and gave the public a little of everything; from parades to acrobats to fire engines. There were titles such as Fred Ott's Sneeze (1894), The Kiss (1896), The Great Train Robbery (1903), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1910) and the first Frankenstein film in 1910.
"When the owners of Luna Park in Coney Island, New York announced they were going to execute Topsy the elephant by electrocution, strangulation, and poisoning, Edison's Studios sent a film crew to catch it all on film. In 1904 the movie Electrocuting an Elephant was released."
"In 1908 Edison started the Motion Pictures Patent Company which brought together nine major motion picture studios. The motion picture industry was in its infancy during these years, and if Edison had seen its potential and all it offered to society in general, all his money problems could have been swept under the rug.
"In the end, he lost interest in this new device and didn't turn to it again until there was a need to blend pictures with sound. Even then, he believed talking pictures “spoiled everything” for him. Still, he had a favorite movie (The Birth of a Nation) and his favorite actors were Mary Pickford and Clara Bow."
***
Other Inventions and Projects
" ... Once Edison realized he wasn't going to win the Current Wars, he turned his attention elsewhere. In the 1880s, he developed a means of separating iron ore using magnets.
"Once Edison had received money for stepping away from his company General Electric, he used the capital to buy an iron ore mine in northern New Jersey in Ogdensburg. ... "
"In time, huge reserves of iron ore were discovered in the Mesabi Range in northeastern Minnesota. Edison realized at that point that his small iron ore operation was doomed. The ore in Minnesota was easily mined and close to shipping facilities. Combine that with the falling prices of iron ore and Edison's magnetic extractors were no longer feasible."
" ... In the late 1890s, he began experimenting with various materials that would be visible in an x-ray. By 1900 he had invented a fluoroscope that could be manufactured commercially. Edison was using calcium tungstate because this element produced the brightest images on the screen.
"But, just a few short years later, Edison left off with his fluoroscopy inventions. Clarence Dally, who was one of Edison's assistants in the lab suffered radiation poisoning from repeated exposure to x-rays; he would eventually die from aggressive cancer. Even Edison damaged one of his eyes with his repeated fluoroscope experiments."
"Later on, in the 1920s, Edison joined up with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford to create the Edison Botanic Research Corporation, constructing a lab in Fort Myers, Florida where they conducted rubber experiments. At the time the U.S. was getting its bulk of rubber from countries overseas. Edison wanted to find a way to cultivate rubber in the U.S.
"Unlike other experiments, Edison did the majority of the research and planting. He would send soil samples back to his headquarters in West Orange, NJ for further evaluation of the sample rubber residues. His methods were based on a two-part acid-based extraction; latex was derived from the plant material after it was dried and crushed down to powder form. It would take about 17,000 plant samples before Edison could say he found success in the Leavenworth Goldenrod plant."
***
Edison's Later Public Life
"As the years went by, hundreds of companies would come to carry his name, even though they had no affiliation with Edison whatsoever. As early as the 1890s, Edison filed a lawsuit against The Edison Chemical Company, which wasn't associated with him at all. Another businessman with the same last name had named his company thus.
"Edison was certainly adept at marketing inventions, the light bulb being a prime example of those skills. He didn't so much as “invent” the light bulb, but he knew how to market it better than his competitors. Throughout his long career, he created many businesses; his patents were licensed, his products were manufactured, equipment was built, and whole industries sprang up where once there was nothing."
" ... His genius lay in hiring only the very best assistants, many of whom stayed with him for decades; these men knew Edison well and were adapted to his work schedules and quirks. Some, like Nikola Tesla would come and go quickly.
"Beginning in the 1870s and 1880s Edison created and ran companies that established him as the primary producer and distributor of incandescent lights. It wasn't just the light bulb which was manufactured. There were companies that produced wires, insulators, connectors, sockets and the equipment to produce all of these. Edison was also right there when it came to producing current and how it was distributed to customers.
"Additionally, Edison had his network of companies that would conduct his research, develop products, research new markets, build systems, as well as collect the fees that went along with providing electric lights to homes and businesses. Most of these companies would become the General Electric Company, and because Edison stubbornly refused to stay out of a war of currents, he lost control of his company, as well as all of the patents that went with it."
***
Final Years and Death
“I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun.”
"—Thomas Edison"
"Edison lived near to Henry Ford in their Fort Myers, Florida community. The two men had met years before when Ford worked as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company way back in the 1890s. Edison and Ford became good friends in their later years, usually taking yearly motor camping trips from 1914 to 1924.
"Edison continued to work when most men would have been long retired. In 1928 Edison brought direct current power to the Lackawanna Railroad when they introduced an overhead catenary system. This was the cable running along the track above the train from which the wire is suspended.
"When the first train of this kind left the Hoboken, NJ train station, Edison was at its helm. This particular set of train cars would run in northern New Jersey for the next 54 years until they were retired in 1984.
"When Europe entered into the First World War in 1914 Edison urged his fellow citizens to stay prepared. He believed that technology would be the future of war.
***
June 29, 2019
I read the One Hour History of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison back to back and it was quite the comparison of personalities. I learned a lot from this short bio. In 1997, Life Magazine published a special double issue entitled, "The 100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years," and they listed Thomas Edison as number one. One of the biggest surprises for me when reading this bio was that Thomas Edison did not invent the electric light bulb - he improved upon it and successfully marketed it. He was very persistent and stubborn and this worked both to his favor and against him at various times in his life. He was caught up in his inventions for most of his life and he wasn't a good parent. He cheated Nikola Tesla and he was known to be very cheap. He was a good friend of Henry Ford's and they were known to spend time together and travel later in life. While he did make money on his inventions he also lost money, had patent disputes in the courts, and turned much of his profits back into his inventions, and therefore he was not a wealthy as many assumed. His inventions include the phonograph, microphone used in telephones, mimeograph machines, and movie cameras, among others. He very stubbornly believe DC current was the only viable way for households to have electricity and he argued against alternating current, to his detriment (and it is interesting that Nikola Tesla who he cheated would therefore win in the AC current argument.)
Quote
"I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won't work." ~ Thomas Edison
Quote
"I have not failed. I have found 10,000 ways that won't work." ~ Thomas Edison
April 8, 2021
Like all the Hourly History Series books, this is a quick read, 50 pages. Calling this series of books the Hourly History Series is fitting because the average reader can read each volume in about an hours’ time. What I love most about these books is that they tell the reader everything he or she needs to know about the subject in a Reader’s Digest Condensed Book’s style. No fluff! Just the facts!
Ask almost anyone, even an elementary school’s student, who Thomas Edison was and they’ll tell you he was the man who invented the light bulb. Of course they would all be wrong. There had been many light bulbs invented before Edison’s, by many inventors. Edison is called its inventor when all he did was improve on earlier designs and made it practical as a light source.
Thomas Alva Edison has become the world’s most renown inventor. In his lifetime, he laid claim to 2, 332 patents, a feat that no one has ever even come close to repeating. He led the way with many inventions like the record player, the motion picture camera and projector, the fluoroscope, the stock ticker, and the improved telephone transmitter, to name just a few. He was was the world’s most prolific inventor.
Thomas Edison, “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” was more than just a prolific inventor, he was a visionary, an innovative businessman. First off, he applied the principles of mass production to his laboratories. He assigned different aspects of the research involved to each of his assistant, thus speeding up the entire process, producing one innovative invention after another. Unlike many brilliant inventors of the times, he was also a brilliant businessman who marketed those inventions.
Although never rich himself, he knew and was friends with many of the rich and famous of his day. Do you want to know more about what made the Wizard of Menlo Park tick? Read this exceptional little book.
Ask almost anyone, even an elementary school’s student, who Thomas Edison was and they’ll tell you he was the man who invented the light bulb. Of course they would all be wrong. There had been many light bulbs invented before Edison’s, by many inventors. Edison is called its inventor when all he did was improve on earlier designs and made it practical as a light source.
Thomas Alva Edison has become the world’s most renown inventor. In his lifetime, he laid claim to 2, 332 patents, a feat that no one has ever even come close to repeating. He led the way with many inventions like the record player, the motion picture camera and projector, the fluoroscope, the stock ticker, and the improved telephone transmitter, to name just a few. He was was the world’s most prolific inventor.
Thomas Edison, “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” was more than just a prolific inventor, he was a visionary, an innovative businessman. First off, he applied the principles of mass production to his laboratories. He assigned different aspects of the research involved to each of his assistant, thus speeding up the entire process, producing one innovative invention after another. Unlike many brilliant inventors of the times, he was also a brilliant businessman who marketed those inventions.
Although never rich himself, he knew and was friends with many of the rich and famous of his day. Do you want to know more about what made the Wizard of Menlo Park tick? Read this exceptional little book.
March 2, 2021
The genius of Thomas Edison was not in inventing the lightbulb (which he didn't) but was in his ability to market them to Americans. He applied the principles of mass production to the lightbulb, thus bringing light to the masses. Edison was granted over 2300 (world-wide) patents for his inventions and improvements. They radically changed America.
After reading Nikola Tesla's history, I really had no interest in reading about Thomas Edison. He was a mean, spiteful man who destroyed Tesla. Edison was wise in the people he hired but he paid them poorly. Where they made their money was from the stock options he gave them. Edison did not die with vast sums of money; he spent plenty trying to protect his patents and inventions he was interested in, even if they weren't viable.
After reading Nikola Tesla's history, I really had no interest in reading about Thomas Edison. He was a mean, spiteful man who destroyed Tesla. Edison was wise in the people he hired but he paid them poorly. Where they made their money was from the stock options he gave them. Edison did not die with vast sums of money; he spent plenty trying to protect his patents and inventions he was interested in, even if they weren't viable.
September 24, 2017
Edison - Inventor and Innovator
A quick ( roughly 1 hour) read that provides and overview of Edison's life, career, and inventions, taking the time to note early experiences, and jobs that influenced later inventions.
Contains quite a few familiar facts, along with some historical contexy, and in a few places juxtaposing Edison's personal and professional life, and includes some interesting tidbits:
"When George Eastman came up with celluloid film, Edison used it to improve on his motion picture camera. The films were cut into strips with perforated edges; creating the iconic shape that most of us picture when we think about a film roll."
A quick ( roughly 1 hour) read that provides and overview of Edison's life, career, and inventions, taking the time to note early experiences, and jobs that influenced later inventions.
Contains quite a few familiar facts, along with some historical contexy, and in a few places juxtaposing Edison's personal and professional life, and includes some interesting tidbits:
"When George Eastman came up with celluloid film, Edison used it to improve on his motion picture camera. The films were cut into strips with perforated edges; creating the iconic shape that most of us picture when we think about a film roll."
June 9, 2020
I really do enjoy reading these hourly histories. I feel I gain so much more insight into the person, the place, or the event that is being discussed
This writing of “Thomas Edison: Life from Beginning to End” is no exception.
Who knew that Addison had over 2300 patents in his name. Who knew that most of his inventions were improvements on either products or technology that he felt failed the American public.
Yes, his name will live on… In the companies that he started and/or have carried on his work, even though some of his inventions are no longer being used.
One to be respected, Thomas Alva Edison was a man for his time and for all time.
This writing of “Thomas Edison: Life from Beginning to End” is no exception.
Who knew that Addison had over 2300 patents in his name. Who knew that most of his inventions were improvements on either products or technology that he felt failed the American public.
Yes, his name will live on… In the companies that he started and/or have carried on his work, even though some of his inventions are no longer being used.
One to be respected, Thomas Alva Edison was a man for his time and for all time.
September 21, 2019
Thomas Edison’s good side
This was an interesting biography but doesn’t completely define Mr. Edison. He did do much in the way of inventions but took credit for all of his staff‘s work for himself. He should probably never have married since he had no time for his wife and children. Although he didn’t do any philanthropy, he gave back to society by pouring his money into more discovery and inventions that did benefit society. I hadn’t remembered that Henry Ford worked for him before becoming the auto Mogul.
This was an interesting biography but doesn’t completely define Mr. Edison. He did do much in the way of inventions but took credit for all of his staff‘s work for himself. He should probably never have married since he had no time for his wife and children. Although he didn’t do any philanthropy, he gave back to society by pouring his money into more discovery and inventions that did benefit society. I hadn’t remembered that Henry Ford worked for him before becoming the auto Mogul.
January 8, 2022
Thomas alva Edison
In GE research center, Bangalore when i worked between 2009 and 2013 there use to be this saying posted at places " Edison lit up the world, let's do our bit to keep the lights glowing ". This short summary book informed me about things i dint know in its completeness. Edison is probably the best self taught, practical scientist the world has ever seen! You really dont want fancy degrees to become a world class inventer or innovator. This is a beacon for generations of scientists, engineers and creative minds yet to come...
In GE research center, Bangalore when i worked between 2009 and 2013 there use to be this saying posted at places " Edison lit up the world, let's do our bit to keep the lights glowing ". This short summary book informed me about things i dint know in its completeness. Edison is probably the best self taught, practical scientist the world has ever seen! You really dont want fancy degrees to become a world class inventer or innovator. This is a beacon for generations of scientists, engineers and creative minds yet to come...
October 23, 2021
Brilliant And Complex
An easy, quick read by one of the most interesting inventors and businessmen of the 19th Century. Edison was not exceptional at either individually, but managed to market and position himself so that 90 years after his death, almost every American knows his name and his “invention” of the light bulb. You’ll get a good dose of perspective in this short, enjoyable biography.
An easy, quick read by one of the most interesting inventors and businessmen of the 19th Century. Edison was not exceptional at either individually, but managed to market and position himself so that 90 years after his death, almost every American knows his name and his “invention” of the light bulb. You’ll get a good dose of perspective in this short, enjoyable biography.
June 1, 2018
Readable Account of Thomas Edison's Lufe
This was an enjoyable expose of Thomas Edison, warts and all. It seamlessly takes one from New experiment to New creation, year by year in a very smooth way. It reminds us of how prolific the inventor was and how many creations affect our lives yet today. A very talented, bright man.
This was an enjoyable expose of Thomas Edison, warts and all. It seamlessly takes one from New experiment to New creation, year by year in a very smooth way. It reminds us of how prolific the inventor was and how many creations affect our lives yet today. A very talented, bright man.
December 18, 2018
A very short' biography', probably straight from Wikipedia, written in barely literate English. Here's a sample sentence: 'He was never about making vast amounts of money, however nice that would have been for his many inventions.' What? On reflection, perhaps not from Wikipedia but from some 11-year-old schoolboy's homework. Don't waste your money.
August 28, 2019
Another rudimentary introduction for a historical figure by Hourly History. Gives a brief overview of his major inventive accomplishments as well as some of the problems his stubbornness caused. Edison is one of the most important figures in U.S. and world history for the sheer number of critical scientific contributions.
September 26, 2021
Man of Light
He never retired. He never made money for his findings. He gave a life to entertainment all over the world. Because of him many made huge money and many have become Idols in Arts because of his work in Cinema. He has lit every nook and corner of the world with his Light.
He never retired. He never made money for his findings. He gave a life to entertainment all over the world. Because of him many made huge money and many have become Idols in Arts because of his work in Cinema. He has lit every nook and corner of the world with his Light.
May 25, 2023
Enjoyed this very much
I moved to Fort Myers Fl and have been through the Edison lab here. It was nice to know more about this statesman.
Sad that he dedicated so much of his life to his projects and so little to is family.
Too bad he didn’t invent the hearing aid. But he gave us much more than he knew.
Good book,
I moved to Fort Myers Fl and have been through the Edison lab here. It was nice to know more about this statesman.
Sad that he dedicated so much of his life to his projects and so little to is family.
Too bad he didn’t invent the hearing aid. But he gave us much more than he knew.
Good book,
March 28, 2018
A good book to read
It's a very great book, I had enjoyed reading and I didn't get bored while reading. This book explains the aspects of life of the Thomas Edison whether it is personal or professional and speaks about his inventions. A must read from me
It's a very great book, I had enjoyed reading and I didn't get bored while reading. This book explains the aspects of life of the Thomas Edison whether it is personal or professional and speaks about his inventions. A must read from me
June 25, 2018
A brief history on the inventions (or more correctly the enhanced modifications) from the life of Edison. It doesn't spend a lot of time on his personal life, which is a shame, as we learn nothing really about the man himself. An interesting and informative insight never the less for someone (like myself) who really knew very little about the man. The book is more an introduction to his life and works and if you found you needed more information, its a stepping stone to further research . An easy non-fiction read.
January 23, 2020
Crisp and clear
Consider putting a person's life in few pages, and along making it interesting as well, this author has done it. Every page is crisp clear and carefully put to give as much information as needed. Great work !
Consider putting a person's life in few pages, and along making it interesting as well, this author has done it. Every page is crisp clear and carefully put to give as much information as needed. Great work !
May 27, 2020
Short and succint
The biography of one of the greatest inventors and businessmen of the 19th and 20th century has been very well placed with brief background and historical references. This is a short and good read.
The biography of one of the greatest inventors and businessmen of the 19th and 20th century has been very well placed with brief background and historical references. This is a short and good read.
June 2, 2020
The author repeatedly pointed out that Edison was a stubborn ass, but could not see that his stubbornness was sometimes based to his own personal morality and his hope for humanity.
He did not want the camera to serve pornographers.
He did not want the camera to serve pornographers.
Read
January 14, 2022Most creative person ever seen
It was just amazing to see how single handedly one can change the world forever. Thanks edison for your creativeness and enlightening the world. You were the one , best in marketing team.
It was just amazing to see how single handedly one can change the world forever. Thanks edison for your creativeness and enlightening the world. You were the one , best in marketing team.
February 8, 2022
Brief and crisp
A good read. A pretty brief and crisp one. Sheds light on him not only as an inventor and innovator but also as a person. His interaction with Nikola Tesla is pretty insightful. He was a great inventor but in the end like all humans he had some shortcomings
A good read. A pretty brief and crisp one. Sheds light on him not only as an inventor and innovator but also as a person. His interaction with Nikola Tesla is pretty insightful. He was a great inventor but in the end like all humans he had some shortcomings
April 19, 2024
Excellent synopsis
I very much enjoyed the different stages of the book. All stages were concise and told the events as they unfolded. I especially enjoyed the last stage which accurately portrayed Edison’s personality. It was exactly the type of information I wanted.
I very much enjoyed the different stages of the book. All stages were concise and told the events as they unfolded. I especially enjoyed the last stage which accurately portrayed Edison’s personality. It was exactly the type of information I wanted.
January 6, 2018
Very cool
What a cool little biography on such an important man.
I am blown away by everything he is credited for. Totally cool stuff.
What a cool little biography on such an important man.
I am blown away by everything he is credited for. Totally cool stuff.
Read
January 27, 2018Good read
June 20, 2018
Condensed and insightful
The story is told objectively and truthfully. Admirers and enemies alike should be able to enjoy the book. Simple, light reading.
The story is told objectively and truthfully. Admirers and enemies alike should be able to enjoy the book. Simple, light reading.
September 15, 2019
Great introduction to a hardworking hard man.
September 26, 2019
Very Informative & Inspiring
Everything Is Best Except The Price It Would Be Great If The Price Was Lower
But It's Best As A Book 🙂
Everything Is Best Except The Price It Would Be Great If The Price Was Lower
But It's Best As A Book 🙂
October 15, 2019
Hourly history along with telling the life history also balances the moral obligation of edison. As as a whole its a good read.
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