What do you see at night? You probably said a form of light containing a bulb of some kind. Well, before Thomas Edison came along, people used gas lamps and fire to see. Thomas Edison was a person who revolutionized the world with his amazing invention of the incandescent light bulb, and he had other revolutionary inventions as well. Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio (Edison light bulb). His parents were Samuel and Nancy Edison, and he was the youngest of seven children. As a child he had very little education. He only attended school for a couple of months, his mother taught him to read, write and arithmetic (Edison biography). He was curious though and learned on his own by reading. At the age of thirteen he found work as a newsboy, became interested in and learned to use the telegraph. He became a telegraph operator at the age of 16 and his job was to send signals to the United States and Canada (Edison's light bulb). He worked in many cities, until he went to Boston in 1868. There he went from telegrapher to inventor (Edison Biography). His first patent was an electric vote recorder, which was supposed to record votes in laws by creating bodies faster. It was a failure and for this reason he decided to create inventions only for the public. He moved to New York in 1869 and his first successful invention was the Universal Stock Printer. He was given $40,000 for this and other inventions. With the money he founded his first small laboratory and manufacturing plant in Newark, New Jersey in 1871. At the same time he married Mary Stilwell and they had three children (Edison biography). He then moved his family and staff to the village of Menlo Park, southwest of New York City, and opened a new laboratory/building...... middle of document...... December 15 2013. Web. December 16, 2013. "Edison's Light Bulb." Edison's light bulb at the Franklin Institute. The Franklin Institute, n.d. Web. 13 December 2013. “Thomas Edison's Patent Application for the Light Bulb (1880).” www.ourdocuments.gov. National History Day, National Archives and Records Administration, USA Freedom Corps., n.d. Web. December 15, 2013. “Phonograph.” The case files: Thomas Alva Edison. The Franklin Institute, n.d. Web. December 18, 2013. "Edison Motion Pictures." www.memory.loc.gov. American Memorial Library of Congress, nd Web. December 18. 2013. .