Dr. Jim Surrell, Journal columnist

I recently learned that one of the most brilliant inventors of all time, Thomas Edison, spent some of his early years growing up in the State of Michigan. Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children of Samuel and Nancy Edison. His family then moved to Port Huron, Michigan, where he grew up.

His childhood education was done in the Port Huron public schools along with some home schooling from his mother. His mother was an accomplished school teacher and a major influence in Edison’s early life. An early bout with scarlet fever as well as ear infections left Edison with hearing difficulties in both ears as a child and nearly deaf as an adult.

By the time he was 11 years old, he showed his very strong appetite for knowledge, and he was reading books on a wide range of subjects. In this process of learning at school and at home, Edison developed a process for self-education and learning independently that would serve him throughout his life. At age 12, Edison convinced his parents to let him sell newspapers to passengers along the Grand Trunk Railroad line. Edison subsequently began publishing his own small newspaper, called the Grand Trunk Herald. The up-to-date articles were a hit with passengers. This was the first of what would become a long string of entrepreneurial ventures where he saw a need and capitalized on the opportunity.

By the time he died in 1931, Thomas Edison had accumulated an amazing record of receiving a total of 1,093 patents. These numerous patents that helped so many people and companies included 389 for electric light and power, 195 for the phonograph, 150 for the telegraph, 141 for storage batteries, and 34 for the telephone.

While Edison was not the inventor of the first light bulb, he came up with the technology that helped bring it to the masses. In 1878, Edison focused on inventing a safe, inexpensive electric light to replace the gaslight, and this was a challenge that scientists had been working on for the last 50 years. With the help of prominent financial backers like J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilt family, Edison set up the Edison Electric Light Company and began research and development. He made a breakthrough in October 1879 with a bulb that used a platinum filament, and in the summer of 1880 hit on carbonized bamboo as a viable alternative for the filament, which proved to be the key to a long-lasting and affordable light bulb.

Edison was granted a patent for his own improved light bulb in 1879. He then began to manufacture and market it for widespread use. In January 1880, Edison set out to develop a company that would deliver the electricity to power and light the cities of the world. That same year, Edison founded the Edison Illuminating Company, and this was the first investor-owned electric utility, which later became the General Electric Company.

Regarding his personal life, in 1871 Thomas Edison married 16-year-old Mary Stilwell, who was an employee at one of his businesses. During their 13-year marriage, they had three children, Marion, Thomas and William, who himself became an inventor. Tragically, in 1884, his wife Mary died at the age of 29 of a suspected brain tumor. Two years later, Edison married his second wife, whose maiden name was Mina Miller.

After his long and very productive full life, Thomas Edison passed away in October 18, 1931, at the age of 84 years.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jim Surrell is the author of “The ABC’s For Success In All We Do” and the “SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet” books.Contact Dr. Surrell by email at sosdietdoc@gmail.com.