Thomas Edison was an famous American inventor and businessman. His full name is Thomas Alva Edison. He was born February 11, 1847 in Milan,Ohio and grew up in Port Huron, Michigan. He was the seventh and last child of his family | Edison only had 3 month of official schooling because his teacher was overheard calling him "addled". After, his mother taught he at home. Edison's family moved to Port Huron, Michigan in 1854. Edison sold candy and newspapers on trains running from Port Huron to Detroit, and sold vegetables to supplement his income. He also studied qualitative analysis, and conducted chemical experiments on the train until an accident prohibited further work of the kind. Edison began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey. In 1878, Edison obtained a patent for the phonograph. Edison built the first industrial research lab in Menlo Park. In 1877–78, Edison invented and developed the carbon microphone. In 1878 Edison began working on a system of electrical illumination. In 1878, Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with several financiers . Edison made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, in Menlo Park. In 1889 he patented a system for electricity distribution and in 1880, he founded the Edison Illuminating Ford, the automobile magnate,they were friends until Edison's death. Edison was active in business right up to the end. Edison became the owner of his Milan, Ohio, birthplace in 1906. On his last visit, in 1923, he was reportedly shocked to find his old home still lit by lamps and died of complications of diabetes on October 18, 1931.
