Edison
THOMAS ALVA, an American inventor; born in Milan, O., Feb. 11, 1847. In early life he was denied the privileges of continuous schooling, but acquired a large and varied stock of knowledge by his own industry. Before he was 12 years of age he became a train boy on the Detroit and Port Huron branch of the Grand Trunk railroad, and learned to operate the telegraph. He began to study batteries, wires, and instru- THOMAS A. EDISON ments, wherever he could find them. His first invention to be patented was a commercial stock indicator, and the proceeds of this invention, which at once came into wide use, enabled him to establish a laboratory at Newark, N. J., afterward removed to Menlo Park, and then to its present location at West Orange, N. J.
From this beginning he became known to Photo, Brown Bros.
A VIEW OF MT. CHIMBORAZO, ECUADOR Enc. Vol. 3-p. 469 Photo, Paul Thompson PYRAMIDS, ROCK TOMBS AND GRANITE TEMPLE AT GIZEH, EGYPT Photo, International Film Service PULPIT OF IVORY, EBONY, AND ALABASTER IN THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASSAN, CAIRO AAAA Publishers' Photo Service THE TEMPLE OF PHILAE, PARTLY SUBMERGED BY THE WATERS OF THE NILE BECAUSE OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ASSOUAN DAM Ewing Galloway THE PUBLIC GRAIN ELEVATOR AT NEW ORLEANS, LA., ONE OF THE BEST EQUIPPED IN THE WORLD Photo, Underwood & Underwood A HIGH-FREQUENCY ALTERNATOR USED IN SENDING WIRELESS MESSAGES. ALTERNATOR IN CENTER; DYNAMO AT RIGHT; TRANSFORMER, ABOVE International Film Service LOWER BROADWAY, NEW YORK, SHOWING ITS ELECTRIC LIGHTING AT NIGHT CVAS 10254 Photo, Ewing Galloway A GEARLESS ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE DRAWING A TRAIN IN THE MOUNTAIN SERVICE, NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES