A blast from the past… Thomas Edison, one of the United States’ greatest inventors, was deaf! Check out his life story and learn why he thought his deafness was the secret to his great success! #deafSTEMchronicle
Transcript: Guess whose birthday it was yesterday, February 11? Thomas Edison! He was born on February 11, 1847. He was one of the United States’ greatest inventors. Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other at an early age. When he was young, he attended school only a few months and his teachers thought he was very slow. He decided to quit school and was homeschooled a bit by his mother. He mostly taught himself by reading constantly and trying experiments in the basement. He never attended any technical school or college. In 1869, at the age of 22, Edison created an electric vote-recording machine, which was intended to speed the voting process. The electric vote-recording machine was his first patent. He tried to market it to members of the U.S. legislature, who were completely uninterested. Right there, Edison decided that he would concentrate on making all his future inventions things the public would want, which were utility products. In 1874, at the age of 27, Edison began developing a multiplex telegraphic system, which could send two messages simultaneously. To his surprise, Western Union made a massive bid for the telegraphic system. With the newly-received funds, he built the famous industrial research lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. There, it began an era of prolific inventions that made modifications to existing products including electric light, batteries, and telephones. With an exception of phonograph, it was the first of its kind. The phonograph could record and reproduce sounds. The secret to Thomas Edison’s great success was.. Being deaf! Edison thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short so that he could have more time for work! And, of course, persistence. He said: “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” and about his setbacks “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
