Science Struck
Science Struck: Facts About Thomas Edison
Read about the life of Thomas Edison and his many inventions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: Thomas Alva Edison
As the inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph, and the printing telegraph, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), improved the daily lives of everyday people.
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Thomas Edison
Brief biographical sketch of Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the light bulb and phonograph.
Read Works
Read Works: Edison Tried and Tried Again
[Free Registration/Login Required] This biographical passage shares information about Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
Other
Edision Birthplace Museum: Birthplace of Edison
Biographical look at Thomas Edison from the museum of his birthplace. Provides information on his life and his inventions. Also gives a tour of Edison's birthplace.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Thomas Edison National Historical Park: Thomas Edison
This site includes information about Thomas Edison's inventions and his home and family life. Find a lengthy biography and several sounds from Edison's original phonograph.
PBS
Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Thomas Edison
The "Wizard of Menlo Park" brought the world electric light, recorded music, and the movies, among other things, and turned innovation into a science by inventing the research laboratory.
Rutgers University
Blueprint for Change: The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer
An extensive look at the inventor, Lewis Latimer, from the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University. Read essays about his life and inventions, the culture in Boston which encouraged his work, and his life outside his inventions. A...
Great Idea Finder
Great Idea Finder: Lewis Howard Latimer
An extensive biography of the life of African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. Find out about his primary claim to fame in the development of an incandescent light bulb, but be sure to read about his many patents, and his importance to...
University of Houston
University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 158: Lewis Latimer
A brief biography of African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. Read about his association with both Hiram Maxim and Thomas Edison in developing the incandescent light bulb. This is a transcript of an accompanying radio broadcast.
Rutgers University
Thomas Edison Papers: Latimer's Patents
Find a list of patents issued to African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer, to him individually or with another inventor. Clicking on the invention takes you a diagram of the invention as well as its description submitted to the U.S....
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Tracing the Roots of America's Motion Picture Industry
In the late 1800's, Thomas Edison and his fellow inventors were key in the American film industry's boom.This web site provides a podcast and accompanying transcript tracing the roots of the film industry in America. Podcast [21:27]
Digital History
Digital History: The Wizard of Menlo Park
This resource provides information about the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison. Find out about his childhood, some of his famous inventions, and even some of his mistakes.
Other
Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Education: Spotlight Biography Inventors
This site provides information on American inventors Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Singer, Wilbur Wright, Thomas Alva Edison, Elias Howe, and Alexander Graham Bell. It offers pictures from and...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Lewis H. Latimer
Use this site to learn about the inventor of the carbon-filament light bulb, Lewis H. Latimer (1848-1928 CE).
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Technology of the 1800s
[Free Registration/Login Required] Article considers the inventions and innovations in communication, transportation, and manufacturing that drove America forward in the nineteenth century. Includes a link to an interactive history of...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and the long-lasting, practical...
Curated OER
Science Kids: Science Images: Thomas Edison
This is a black and white photo of a famous American inventor named Thomas Edison. His many inventions included the practical electric light bulb and phonograph (a device used to play recorded sound).
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Lewis Howard Latimer
This is an excellent biography of Lewis Howard Latimer. It discusses his joy of learning throughout his entire life, and also includes additional links to help illustrate the topics presented.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Electrifying America
This primary source set explores the development, commercialization, and impact of electricity.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Invention Features: Lewis Latimer
Smithsonian site features the life and many accomplishments of Lewis Latimer, the famous African-American inventor.
Florida State University
Florida State University: Magnet Lab: Electric Meter 1872
The invention of the light bulb quickly created the need to track people's electricity usage. In 1872, Samuel Gardiner built the first simple power meter: a lamp with an attached clock that recorded the time the light was on.