Thomas Edison, 1847-1931
It is astonishing what an effort it seems to be for many people to put their brains definitely and systematically to work.
Kicked out of school for being easily distracted, Thomas Edison received only 3 months of formal schooling. The rest of Edison’s education came from his mother’s homeschooling and his reading of classic books. Though he lost nearly all of his hearing at a young age, Edison did not let this disability hinder him. He early on showed a tenacious entrepreneurial streak; he sold candy and newspapers aboard trains as a youth and then won a position as telegraph operator when he saved a station agent’s son from being run over by a train. As a telegrapher, he worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Edison requested the night shift so that he could read and do his experiments during the slow evening hours. His constant tinkering paid off; Edison (often with help from his partners) came up with a myriad of inventions, including the phonograph, stock ticker, fluoroscope, kinetoscope, and most famously, the first commercially viable incandescent lamp. “The Wizard of Menlo Park” was both a genius inventor and a savvy business man; he filed more than 1500 patents during his lifetime and founded 14 companies including General Electric.
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