Today marks Edison’s 175th birthday. On behalf of the Bayham Historical Society, let’s take a deeper look at the genius that was Thomas Edison.
On February 11, 1847, the inventor and innovative businessman Thomas Edison was born. From his childhood summers in Vienna to the bright lights of Menlo Park, Edison’s mind was truly way ahead of its time.
Today marks Edison’s 175th birthday. On behalf of the Bayham Historical Society, let’s take a deeper look at the genius that was Thomas Edison.
Early History
While living in Vienna, Ontario, Samuel Jr. had multiple run-ins with the law. His support of William Lyon Mackenzie and his role in the Rebellion of 1837 forced him to flee to the United States. His land in Vienna was confiscated, and a bounty of $500 was placed for his capture.
Samuel, his wife Nancy and their children eventually settled in Milan, Ohio. On February 11, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison was born, their seventh and final child. When Thomas was seven-years-old, the family moved from Milan to Michigan, where Edison spent the rest of his childhood.
Thomas Edison was a peculiar child who thrived in his own company. Being a former school teacher, Edison’s mother was also the one who taught him how to read and write after he couldn’t keep up at school. She always encouraged him to read as much as possible, which is how he was able to learn so much about a variety of different things. He had a brilliant mind and was always working on something, even as a young child.
Thomas spent hours a day crafting experiments in the basement of their home. By age 12, Edison was selling newspapers, snacks and fruit on trains as a “news butcher.” Even as a child, it’s easy to see where Thomas’ hard work, determination and creativity came from.
When Thomas was 15, he started travelling across the United States as a “tramp telegrapher.” He was able to send and receive messages over a telegraph using Morse Code. Over the next decade, Edison moved all over the country, working late nights to take messages. When he did have a spare moment, he enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked. It was this that drew him to finally try inventing.
Edison’s Inventions
Edison didn’t hit the big time after his first invention, the electric vote recorder, failed, but he didn’t stop trying. After moving to New York City, Thomas got his big break by improving the way the stock ticker worked. During this time, he also improved the telegraph by making it send up to four messages at once.
In 1876, Edison, his wife Mary and their three children moved from Newark to Menlo Park, New Jersey. Here is where Edison was able to build his famous laboratory, where he created the majority of his most known work.
Edison went on to emerge as one of the world’s most prolific inventors. Some of his most famous creations include the phonograph, the automatic telegraph, the incandescent lamp, the storage battery and the improvement of generating and distributing electricity.
Contrary to popular belief, Edison did not invent the light bulb. The light bulb had been around for several years before Edison began working on his version. He took the already existing design and made a safe and economical light bulb that could be used in the home. To show off how functional his incandescent bulbs were, he held a public demonstration at his research laboratory. By September 1882, the first commercial power system began operations, providing power and electrical lighting to one square mile in lower Manhattan.
Edison was also known for his improvement of machines, earning over one thousand patents during his lifetime.
Vienna Connection
Thomas Edison would always remember his time in Vienna. In his younger years, he spent summers with his beloved grandparents, fishing, playing with family and enjoying what else the village had to offer. Edison’s uncle, Charles O. Edison, even taught him how to swim in the Otter Creek.
Thomas’ grandfather, Captain Samuel Ogden Edison, returned to Bayham Township after the War of 1812, becoming one of the most respected men in the area. He even had the privilege of renaming the town from Shrewsbury to Vienna. Thomas adored his grandfather and loved being able to spend the summers with him.
Allegedly, at a family reunion in Port Huron during Edison’s later years, his knowledge of the days he spent in Vienna was brought up. Appalled at such a statement, he gathered a pen and paper, then proceeded to sketch a plan of Vienna, which included his favourite playing spots when he was a child. Edison would never forget his days in Vienna.
Built in 1816, the original Edison homestead is now long gone from its place along Otter Creek. Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, was a very close friend of Thomas Edison. After Edison’s death in 1933, he purchased the original family homestead and moved it from Vienna to Greenfield Village, Michigan, the site of The Henry Ford Museum.
This process involved disassembling the house, shipping it to Michigan and reassembling it on its new plot of land. Ford also managed to ship the bushes and even some of the ground from around the homestead to the building’s new location. During that time, Ford himself came to Vienna to inspect the property before it was taken apart.
On September 17, 1961, a historical plaque was unveiled to commemorate the Edison homestead. The plaque was part of a series of others erected throughout Ontario by the Department of Travel and Publicity, acting on the advice of the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario.
Thomas Edison passed away on October 18, 1931, at the age of 84. Several of his inventions and improvements changed the way we live our lives, even to this day. He had an optimistic look at life, knowing that an idea wasn’t enough, but hard work is what truly paid off.
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
