Thomas Alva Edison, one of the great American inventors was born in 1847. His parents were very poor. As a young boy, Thomas had to earn to live as a newspaper boy on railway trains. With the little money he bought chemicals. He bought books and learnt about chemicals and conducted experiments with them. Later he was employed in a telegraph office. He was not contented with the work he did. He read studied and made various experiments in the field. He was searching for ways to improve telegraphy. Within a short period he presented his proposals for the improvement of the existing system. They were accepted when he was twenty two he received forty thousand dollars for an invention.
Edison was appointed to a very high post in a New York telegraph company. Later he set up his own workshop at Menlo Park. Most of his later inventions were made there. The credit for the invention of the phonographs and cinematography goes to Edison. The electric bulb we use in our homes was greatly improved by Edison. His inventions and improvements are countless. Thomas Alva Edison was one of the great men America produced in the filed of modern technology
