Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison (1847-1931), US inventor. Largely self-taught, Edison set up his first laboratory at the age of ten. At 12 he was printing his own newspaper, on board a railway train. His interest in telegraphy led to a number of important developments, including a new stock ticker for the New York stock market. He used the money from this invention to finance future re-search, inventing the phonograph in 1877 and the electric light bulb in 1878. He also-introduced one of the first cinematographs and improved Alexander Bell’s telephone by means of the carbon transmitter, which increased the volume of the signal. During his career he took out more than 1000 patents.
