Hello! My name is Thomas Alva Edison!

I was born on February 11th, 1847 in Milan, Ohio!

I Invented some really cool and life changing things that you might recognize! I am considered one of the greatest inventors of all time!

My first job was selling newspapers and candy on the railroad. 

By the time I turned 14 I really enjoyed printing so I set out to make my own newspaper. It was the first newspaper ever printed on a railroad train.

Throughout my time of working on the train, I got really good at sending and receiving messages over the telegraph ticker.

In 1864, I became a telegraph operator. I was really good and fast at it.  

Western Union 

Telegraph Ticker!

Because I worked so hard, I made my first great invention. The "Universal Stock Ticker". Western Union bought it for $40,000.

I used that money to buy a house in Menlo Park, New Jersey , where myself and my wife, Mary lived. 

This house was so cool. I had my own laboratory in it, that I used to make even more inventions!

My favorite invention was the Phonograph. I created it in 1877. 

The phonograph changed how we communicated and also provided entertainment. 

Once I perfected my Phonograph, I started putting them in Jukeboxes, so we could listen to music. 

I used coated cylinders with tinfoil to make it.

If you click play, you can hear the recording of myself testing out my Phonograph for the first time reciting "Mary had a Little Lamb". 

My next big invention was the practical light bulb, also known as the Incandescent light bulb in 1879. 

Light bulbs had been around for some time. But they were expensive to make and often didn't last long. 

That's when I went on a mission to test a lot of different materials that can be added to the lightbulb. 

I needed a material that was safe to be used inside a house, but that also lasted a significant amount of time longer.