Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who developed and marketed many key inventions of modern life.
- He was born in Ohio, USA In 1847, and was the youngest of the seven family children.
- When he was young, he did many jobs to earn money, for example selling candies, vegetables and newspapers.
- The company that he created named “Edison Electric” was a leading company to supply electricity directly to people’s homes. He has filed over 1,000 patents for a variety of different inventions.
- He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and in this way his appliances were made available at low cost to many households across America. His most important inventions include the electric lamp, the phonograph and the cinematographic camera.
- He died in 1931 at the age of 84.