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Born 167 years ago on Feb. 11, 1847, Thomas Edison was an incredibly successful inventor, scientist, and businessman, accumulating 1,093 patents in his lifetime.
Although the man from Milan, Ohio purchased many of his patents and is falsely credited with others (like the lightbulb), he was responsible for many useful creations. His laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J. was so productive that at one point, he promised to turn out "a minor invention every ten days and a big thing every six months or so."
All told, he played a vital role in shaping the modern world.
Citing both the Thomas Edison Papers, a research project at Rutgers University, and the Edison Birthplace Museum, we have compiled an official list of Edison's greatest inventions.
THE ELECTROGRAPHIC VOTE RECORDER: As Edison's first patent, this device permitted voters to push a "yes" or "no" switch instead of writing their vote.
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Click here to read the complete patent (6/1/1869)
Source: Thomas Edison Papers
AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPH: In an effort to improve the telegraph, Edison created another, based on his perforated pen, that required no one to tap out the message at the receiving end. This new technology increased words transmitted per minute from 25-40 to as many as 1,000. Edison also eventually produced a "speaking telegraph."
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Click here to read the complete patent (6/22/1869)
Source: Thomas Edison Papers
ELECTRIC PEN: Preceded by the perforated pen, which punched holes in telegraphs, this electric pen created a stencil as the user wrote, which could be used to press ink onto paper and make duplicates.
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Click here to read the complete patent (11/6/1877)
Source: Edison Birthplace Museum
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