Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio; the seventh and last child of Samuel and Nancy Edison. When Edison was seven his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan. Edison had very little formal education as a child, attending school only for a few months. He was taught reading, writing, and arithmetic by his mother, but was always a very curious child and learnt much by reading on his own.

Edison began working at an early age, as most not-so-well off boys did at the time. At thirteen he took a job as a newsboy, selling newspapers and candy on the local railroad that ran through Port Huron to Detroit.Due to his curiosity for science, he started exploring different scientific inventions,specifically the telegraph. By the time he was sixteen, Edison was proficient enough to work as a telegrapher full time.

The development of the telegraph was the first step in the communication revolution, and the telegraph industry expanded rapidly in the second half of the 19th century. This rapid growth gave Edison a chance to travel, see the country, and gain experience. Edison worked in a number of cities throughout the United States before arriving in Boston in 1868. Here Edison began to change his profession from telegrapher to inventor. He received his first patent on an electric vote recorder. This invention was a commercial failure. Edison resolved that in the future he would only invent things that he was certain the public would want.

Edison moved to New York City in 1869. He continued to work on inventions related to the telegraph, and developed his first successful invention, an improved stock ticker called the "Universal Stock Printer".This gave Edison the money he needed to set up his first small laboratory and manufacturing facility in Newark, New Jersey in 1871. He also found the time to get married to Mary Stilwell and start a family

In the last two years of his life, Edison's health was deteriorating at a fast pace. His time in his laboratory gradually decreased and instead was spent in his Vacation house in Fort Myers, Florida. The old man's career had reached its conclusion, visibly showing on his face. Already suffering from numerous ailments, Edison collapsed while at his home estate, Glenmont in August 1931 and reached his demise on October 18, 1931.