Thomas Alva Edison(Milan, 1847 - West Orange, 1931) Inventor norteamericano, el ms genial de la era moderna.

Su madre logr despertar la inteligencia del joven Edison, que era alrgico a la monotona de la escuela. El milagro se produjo tras la lectura de un libro que ella le proporcion titulado Escuela de Filosofa Natural, de Richard Green Parker; tal fue su fascinacin que quiso realizar por s mismo todos los experimentos y comprobar todas las teoras que contena. Ayudado por su madre, instal en el stano de su casa un pequeo laboratorio convencido de que iba a ser inventor. A los doce aos, sin olvidar su pasin por los experimentos. Su primera iniciativa fue vender peridicos y chucheras en el tren que haca el trayecto de Port Huron a Detroit. Aprendi a telegrafiar y, tras conseguir a bajo precio y de segunda mano una prensa de imprimir, comenz a publicar un peridico por su cuenta, el Weekly Herald. En Boston construy un aparato para registrar automticamente los votos y lo ofreci al Congreso. Los polticos consideraron que el invento era tan perfecto que no caba otra posibilidad que rechazarlo. Ese mismo da, Edison tom dos decisiones. En primer lugar, se jur que jams inventara nada que no fuera, adems de novedoso, prctico y rentable. En segundo lugar, abandon su carrera de telegrafista. Acto seguido form una sociedad y se puso a trabajar. Perfeccion el telgrafo automtico, invent un aparato para transmitir las oscilaciones de los valores burstiles, colabor en la construccin de la primera mquina de escribir y dio aplicacin prctica al telfono mediante la adopcin del micrfono de carbn. Su nombre empez a ser conocido, sus inventos ya le reportaban beneficios y Edison pudo comprar maquinaria y contratar obreros. Para l no contaban las horas. Era muy exigente con su personal y le gustaba que trabajase a destajo, con lo que los resultados eran frecuentemente positivos. Recin instalado en Menlo Park, se hallaba sin embargo totalmente concentrado en un nuevo aparato para grabar vibraciones sonoras. La idea ya era antigua e incluso se haba logrado registrar sonidos en un cilindro de cera, pero nadie haba logrado reproducirlos. Edison trabaj da y noche en el proyecto y al fin, en agosto de 1877, entreg a uno de sus tcnicos un extrao boceto, dicindole que construyese aquel artilugio sin prdida de tiempo. Al fin, Edison conect la mquina. Todos pudieron escuchar una cancin que haba entonado uno de los empleados minutos antes. Edison acababa de culminar uno de sus grandes inventos: el fongrafo.En abril de 1879, Edison abord las investigaciones sobre la luz elctrica. Todos sus inventos eran patentados y explotados de inmediato, y no tardaban en producir beneficios sustanciosos. En los aos veinte, sus conciudadanos le sealaron en las encuestas como el hombre ms grande de Estados Unidos. En 1927 fue nombrado miembro de la National Academy of Sciences y al ao siguiente el presidente Coolidge le hizo entrega de una medalla de oro que para l haba hecho grabar el Congreso. Tena ochenta y cuatro aos cuando un ataque de uremia abati sus ltimas energas. Thomas Edison(Milan, 1847 - West Orange, 1931)

American Inventor, the most brilliant of the modern era. His mother managed to awaken the intelligence of young Edison, who was allergic to the monotony of the school. The miracle happened after reading a book she gave him entitled School of Natural Philosophy, by Richard Green Parker such was his fascination that he wanted to do for himself all the experiments and test all the theories it contained. Aided by his mother, settled in the basement of his house a small laboratory convinced I was going to be an inventor. At twelve years old, not to mention his passion for the experiments. His first initiative was sold newspapers and sweets on the train that made the journey from Port Huron to Detroit. He learned to telegraph and, after getting low resale price and a printing press, began publishing a newspaper on their own, the Weekly Herald. In Boston built a device to automatically record the votes and offered it to Congress. Politicians believed that the invention was so perfect that there was no alternative but to reject it. That same day, Edison made two decisions. First, that he would never invent anything but, in addition to new, practical and cost effective. Second, he abandoned his career as a telegraph. He then formed a partnership and went to work. He perfected the automatic telegraph, invented a device to transmit the oscillations of securities, helped build the first typewriter and gave practical application to your phone through the adoption of the carbon microphone. His name became known, his inventions already reported benefits and Edison was able to buy machinery and hire workers. For he did not have the hours. He was very demanding with staff and liked that worked by the piece, so that the results were often positive. Newly installed in Menlo Park, however was totally focused on a new device for recording sound vibrations. The idea was old and had even managed to record sound on a wax cylinder, but no one had managed to reproduce. Edison worked day and night on the project and finally, in August 1877, gave one of their technicians a strange sketch, telling him to build this contraption without delay. Finally, Edison switched on the machine. Everyone could hear a song he had sung one employee minutes before. Edison had just completed one of his great inventions: the fongrafo.En April 1879, Edison research addressed electricity. All his inventions were patented and exploited immediately, and they soon produce substantial benefits. In the twenties, he pointed his fellow citizens in the polls as the greatest man in the United States. In 1927 he was appointed member of the National Academy of Sciences and the following year President Coolidge presented him with a gold medal that he had made record Congress. He was eighty-four when an attack of uremia struck his last energies.