Which of the following best shows the broad scope of Thomas Edison's work?

a. His name was on more than 1,000 patents.

b. He became famous during his own lifetime.

c. He was a self-taught inventor. He is still well known today.

a. His name was on more than 1,000 patents.

Explanation:

Thomas Alva Edison, the youngest of four siblings, was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, a small town in Ohio where he had established his father, Samuel Edison, six years earlier. His father had to abruptly leave Canada as a result of a rebellion against the English in which he lost part and ended in failure. Marginalized by the railroad, activity in Milan gradually declined, and the crisis affected the Edison family, who had to emigrate again to a more prosperous place when their son Thomas had already reached the age of seven.

At age seven, due to lack of work, his family emigrated to Port Huron (Michigan) in search of a better future. There, little Edison attended school for the first time, although the experience would last a little over 3 months. His mother, aware of his son's lack of interest and concentration in school, decided to take charge of his education personally. She would be the one who, in addition to guiding her learning with great mastery, would sow in him the germ of her overflowing curiosity.

At the young age of 12 he began his business activity selling newspapers and snacks on the morning train that went from Port Huron to Detroit. With the money he generated, more than enough for his needs, he bought science books and laboratory supplies for his inventions.

At 14, after saving the son of the stationmaster from a fateful disaster, the father of the minor, in gratitude, offered to teach him morse code and telegraphy. This fact, in the middle of the telegraphy era, assured him work as a telegraphist until at age 19 he decided to work on his own as an autonomous inventor.

At age 21 he patented his first invention: an electric vote counter for Congress. This invention, however, was a complete fiasco, but it taught him a great lesson: not to re-invent something that people were not willing to buy.

Two years later, in 1869, at the request of the Western Union, the most important telegraph company at the time, he built his first great invention: the Edison Universal Stock Printer (a printer for the stock market price). The $ 40,000 he received for this invention allowed him to focus on his inventive ability and open his own workshop (in Newark, New York). Since then he spent the rest of his years completely dedicated to his inventions, among which are:

- The coal microphone (1876) : allowed to improve telephone transmissions.

- The phonograph (1877) : first device that allowed to record and reproduce sounds.

- The first long-lasting electric bulb (1879) : first incandescent bulb with a duration of approximately 48 hours.

- The kinetoscope (1891) : precursor of the film project.

Finally, on October 18, 1931, due to a diabetic complication, he died at 84 years of age, becoming history as one of the most prolific inventors in history with the overwhelming figure of 1093 patents registered in life