{"id":533,"date":"2014-02-11T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T06:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/?p=533"},"modified":"2014-02-06T22:40:20","modified_gmt":"2014-02-06T22:40:20","slug":"happy-birthday-thomas-a-edison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/happy-birthday-thomas-a-edison\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday, Thomas A. Edison!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world today would be a very different place without the inventions of Thomas A. Edison.\u00a0 He was known as the Wizard of Menlo Park.<\/p>\n

Edison had obtained 1,093 US Patents over 63 years from 1868 to 1931 (1,084 utility patents and 9 design patents). \u00a0Only 2 people hold more patents in the United States. \u00a0(1)<\/p>\n

His research provided notable contributions to telegraphy, telephony, sound recording, electronic lighting, electric power generation and distribution, and the motion picture. (2) Edison’s first invention, in 1869, was an electric vote-recorder. \u00a0It was to allow Washington congressmen to vote “yes” or “no” but they were not interested so the invention proved unsuccessful. \u00a0(http:\/\/www.google.com\/patents\/US90646<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Edison's<\/a><\/p>\n

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Other notable inventions include: (3)<\/p>\n

STENCIL PEN<\/a>: The stencil pen was the predecessor to tattoo pens.<\/h3>\n
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\"STENCIL<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

PRACTICAL ELECTRIC LAMP<\/a>: Edison’s carbon filament light bulb was the first commercially viable electric light. Previous versions were not as durable and used expensive materials such as platinum.<\/h3>\n
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\"PRACTICAL<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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FRUIT PRESERVER:<\/a> Edison designed a fruit preserver that sucked the oxygen out of the glass jars, producing vacuum-sealed jars of fruit.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\"FRUIT<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

KINETOGRAPHIC CAMERA<\/a>: The camera showed successive photos in a rapid speed so as to make them appear to be moving.<\/h3>\n
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\"KINETOGRAPHIC<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A complete listing of all of Thomas A. Edison’s 1,093 patents: \u00a0<\/span>http:\/\/edison.rutgers.edu\/patents.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

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In addition to the patents issues\u00a0in the United States, Edison also was issued 1239 patents by foreign governments. (4)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Country<\/th>\nNo.<\/th>\n<\/th>\nCountry<\/th>\nNo.<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Argentine<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\nMexico<\/td>\n14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Australia<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/td>\nNatal<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Austria<\/td>\n101<\/td>\n<\/td>\nNew South Wales<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Belgium<\/td>\n88<\/td>\n<\/td>\nNew Zealand<\/td>\n31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Brazil<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\nNorway<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Canada<\/td>\n129<\/td>\n<\/td>\nOrange Free State<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cape of Good Hope<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/td>\nPortugal<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ceylon<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/td>\nQueensland<\/td>\n29<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cuba<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/td>\nRussia<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Denmark<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSouth African Republic<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
France<\/td>\n111<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSouth Australia<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Germany<\/td>\n130<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSpain<\/td>\n54<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Great Britain<\/td>\n131<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSweden<\/td>\n61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hungary<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSwitzerland<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
India<\/td>\n44<\/td>\n<\/td>\nTasmania<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Italy<\/td>\n83<\/td>\n<\/td>\nVictoria<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Japan<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/td>\nWest Australia<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total of Edison’s Foreign Patents\u2014\u20141239<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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To Learn More:<\/strong><\/p>\n