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February 11, 1847 in the city of Milan, Ohio, was born Thomas Alva Edison - an incredibly successful inventor, scientist and businessman who received for his life 1093 patents.

"Genius is 1 percent inspiration

and 99 percent sweating“

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Edison's childhood is partly reminiscent of the childhood of another ingenious inventor - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Both suffered a scarlet fever and were almost deaf, both were found unfit for school. But if Tsiolkovsky studied at school for several years, then Edison went to school only three months, after which he was called a teacher "brainless." As a result, Edison received only a home education from his mother.

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His first patent Edison registered at 22 years. Today we recall the most important technical achievements of an American engineer, which have influenced the modern world to the maximum.

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Electric counter votes in elections

This was Edison's first patent. The device allowed voters to press the "yes" or "no" button, instead of writing on paper. Unfortunately, there was no demand for this device - as it turned out, when using it, politicians could no longer shamelessly deceive those present and, with the help of fraudulent results, incline their colleagues to change their minds. Parliament declined the invention in favor of the usual written account.

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Automatic Telegraph

To improve the telegraph, Edison created one more - on the basis of the perforated boron he invented - for which he did not need a man to print a message on the other end. This new technology has increased the number of words transmitted per minute from 25-40 to 1000! Edison also became the inventor of the "talking telegraph".

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Coal Phone

Edison improved the weak point of Alexander Bell's phone - a microphone. The original version used a carbon rod, but Edison decided to use a carbon battery, which markedly increased the stability and range of the signal.

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Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

Clyde William Tombaugh discovered the planet Pluto in 1930.

Louis Braille invented a system of writing for blind people in the 19th century.

James Watt invented the stream engine.

Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.

John Spisbury made jigsaw puzzles in 1760.

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Alexander Popov invented the radio.

Tomas Edison invented the lamp bulb.

Henry Edward Roberts invented the computer Altair 8800 in 1975.

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.

Columbus discovered America.

The Chinese invented the compass.

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