Thomas Edison didn’t invent the first lightbulb – that had happened over 50 years before he was doing his inventing.He employed people to work for him to develop his ideas. Edison started up a business with the aim of inventing things.In 1881 Edison received the French Legion of Honour for his electric power system.Menlo Park was the name of the village one of his earlier factories was located in. At one point in his life, Edison was called ‘ The Wizard of Menlo Park’.When he was a telegraph operator, Edison often asked for night shifts so that he could spend some of his time sneaking in some experiments while he was working.Edison would often spend 18 hours a day working – and about 4 hours sleeping!.When he was 15 years old, Edison started printing a newspaper on board the train he then worked on.He wasn’t completely deaf, but said that he liked being able to not hear as it meant he could concentrate on his experiments and inventions. Edison lost most of his hearing when he was 12 years old.Edison was known by his middle name, Al, as a boy, rather than being called Thomas.Edison wasn’t a great pupil school and only lasted three months! His mum taught him at home.Edison’s best known inventions are the electric light system, the phonograph (a machine that records and replays sound) and motion pictures (movies).Edison acquired 1093 patents (something that gives someone the ownership of an invention so that no one else can make it and sell it) for his inventions – this is the record number of patents that one person has ever had.He came up with over 1000 successful inventions in his lifetime.

He is best known for inventing ‘domestic’ lightbulbs to go in houses, and the electric power system that allows them to work. Thomas Alva Edison was a famous American inventor.

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