Who Was Thomas Edison questions

How many patents did Tom have?

1,093

Who invented the telephone?

Alexander Graham Bell - mom almost totally deaf; he and grandfather taught the deaf

When was Thomas Edison born?

February 11, 1847

What was the weekly newspaper?

Grand Trunk Herald

Where was Thomas Edison born?

Milan, Ohio

How was Tom's second wife, Mina, unlike his first wife, Mary?

Mina loved having company

How did Tom propose to his second wife?

Morse code in her palm

What is the Eiffel Tower?

Paris, France; 984 feet high; took two years and 300 men to build

What happened to Tom when he was a boy?

Scarlet fever and as a result could not hear as well

Who was the greatest inventor of his time?

Thomas Alva Edison

Where was Tom's printing press set up?

baggage car of the train

Who was Henry Ford?

came up with the assembly line; first affordable car

How did Tom help improve the telephone

carbon transmitter

What did Tom say was the best way to learn?

doing it yourself

What nickname did Tom have for his children?

dot and das after Morse code

What did the newspaper cost?

eight cents a month

Why did mostly businesses only use telegrams?

expensive

Why was gas lighting not more popular?

expensive, made walls black and dirty, smell caused headaches and dangerous fires could happen

Who was Matthew Brady?

famous civil war photographer

How long did it take to take a photograph back then?

fifteen seconds

What did Tom take a long time to do when inventing the light bulb?

find the right filament

What was the Black Maria?

first motion picture studio in America

Why did Al's mother take him out of school?

furious when the teacher said his brain was scrambled

Why did the conductor throw Tom off of the train?

his mix of chemicals started a fire

Why did Tom's mom teach him at home?

his teacher said his brain was scrambled

What happened in 1884?

his wife Mary died at the age of 29

Why was Tom in a big hurry to finish the phonograph?

important magazine announced his invention

What is Morse code?

invented by Samuel Morse 1791-1872 in Massachusetts; message sent through a wire and much faster than a letter

What did Tom call Menlo Park?

invention factory

Why did he keep a small notebook in his pocket?

jotting down ideas

What happened October 22, 1829?

light bulb glowed for thirteen and a half hours

What did President Herbert Hoover ask on the night of Tom's funeral?

lights to be turned off at 10:00 pm for one minute to honor Tom who had lit up the world

Why did the invention of the telephone concern Tom?

might replace his telegraph

Why was Tom's wife Mary often frustrated?

more time at work than at home

What was wrong with Alexander Graham Bell's telephone?

needed a different transmitter

What is a phonograph?

recording device

What did Tom do that the station master offered to teach him telegraphy?

save his three year old son from being hit by a train

Why did he remove the springs from the clocks?

so no one would pay attention to the time

What invention became Tom's biggest moneymaker?

storage battery

What did Tom call audiotapes?

talking books

What did the stationmaster offer as thanks for saving his son?

teach Thomas a lot about telegraphy

Why did Tom not want a hearing aid or surgery to improve his hearing?

the noises would be too distracting from his work

What was one reason arc lights were not used indoors?

threw off sparks and could start a fire

Why did he break open a bumblebee nest?

to see what was on the inside