Who was Thomas Alva Edison? He was an American inventor and innovator, who held over a thousand patents for gadgets and life-improving inventions. These included the electric lightbulb, the phonograph, and a large number of improvements to the telegraph. In this video, we trace the story of Edison's life, from his humble beginnings as a poor home-schooled child with hearing loss, to his entrepreneurial adolescence, to his almost unbelievable success as an researcher, engineer, innovator, and inventor. We would like to thank our Patrons on Patreon for their generous support of Socratica. They help us make these videos possible! Our sincere gratitude goes out to Tracy Karin Prell, Vishal Shah, Carlos Araujo, Markie Waid, Martin Stephens, Andrew Mengede, Juan Guillermo Henao, and Birds Eat Bees. ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Ways to support our channel: ►  Join our Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/socratica ►  Make a one-time PayPal donation: https://www.paypal.me/socratica ►  We also accept Bitcoin @ 1EttYyGwJmpy9bLY2UcmEqMJuBfaZ1HdG9 Thank you! ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Connect with us! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocraticaStudios/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SocraticaStudios/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Socratica ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ More Biographies of Great Thinkers: Socrates http://bit.ly/2GRmJYR Plato http://bit.ly/2F57wTw Aristotle http://bit.ly/2F2iWeK Eratosthenes http://bit.ly/2oz0UXk Euclid http://bit.ly/2oxZ9cZ Galois http://bit.ly/2t5N8QI Pierre de Fermat http://bit.ly/2F26g3G Edward Jenner http://bit.ly/2FH41nw Louis Pasteur http://bit.ly/2F2Yqek Frederick Sanger http://bit.ly/2HUh5Xd Santiago Ramon y Cajal http://bit.ly/2FF2Q84 As Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Our "Great Thinkers" playlist celebrates influential thinkers who have changed the world for the better. You can see our entire "Great Thinkers" Biography series here: http://bit.ly/2GSu8qQ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ We recommend: Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World http://amzn.to/2CP7xJr Asimov’s Chronology of Science and Discovery - you can read it cover to cover, or just dip in randomly. http://amzn.to/2F0Kwcp Vintage Style Edison Light Bulbs http://amzn.to/2GSuiyq Vintage Style Table Lamp - use with Edison Bulb http://amzn.to/2HSkRAq Shop Amazon Used Textbooks - Save up to 90% http://amzn.to/2pllk4B ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Host: Liliana De Castro Written and Produced by Kimberly Hatch Harrison ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Creative Commons Picture Credits: Western Union Telegram https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1930_Western_Union_telegram_Millsaps_College_Mississippi_State_University.jpg AuthorL NatalieMaynor Edison Stock Ticker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edison_Stock_Telegraph_Ticker.jpg Author: H. Zimmer Edison's bulb used in Menlo Park demonstration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edison_bulb.jpg Quthor: Alkivar Edison Wax Cylinder Phonograph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EdisonPhonograph.jpg Author: Norman Bruderhofer World's Columbian Exposition 1893 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agricultural_Building_at_Night_(3409426351).jpg Author: The Field Museum Library/ FlickrCommons Steam Train Adventures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNNOREoh3bA Author: Walt Loevy