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Thomas Edison

Creating the Modern World

• Thomas Edison is probably our most famous inventor but once upon a time, he was a kid, just like you. He had hobbies and interests, successes and failures, and eventually became one of the most well known inventors EVER.
• Did you know, he didn't talk until he was almost 4 years old? Once he started though, he never stopped asking questions. Some of you may be like that, asking your parents and teachers and yourself questions like, What happens if I drop an egg and a football out of the window? Which lands first? What if I attached a helium balloon to it?
• Many have thought that if he were alive today, he would probably be diagnosed as ADHD.
• He had trouble hearing - many people think this had much to do with the way he learned and the way he thought. Eventually he was entirely deaf in one ear and 80% in the other ear. 
• He was very active and engaged in lots and lots of different things all at once.
• He was shy - many of his hobbies were quiet ones that didn't involve other kids very often. He loved to read and recite poetry and spent a lot of time 'inside his head' thinking about the things he read and learned.
• When he was 11 years old, he found the local library. He set out to read every single book in the library. He set to reading and eventually his questions became too difficult for his parents to answer, and they got him a tutor.
• When he was 14, he started his own newspaper. And he campaigned for Abraham Lincoln!
• By the time he was 15 he had learned morse code and became a telegrapher. This led to his earliest patents and set the "tone" for all of his subsequent work.
• He became rich, famous, and never gave up. And he was once a kid - just like you.