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Thomas Edison is Born
Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio to parents Nancy and Samuel Edison. He was the youngest of their seven children. This event is significant because Edison would go on to invent an electric light and phonograph along with many other inventions that changed society forever (Heyn 108). -
The California Gold Rush Begins Pt. 1
On January 24, in 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered flakes of gold in the American River while working at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. This discovery sent thousands of prospective gold miners to San Francisco. By the end of 1849, the population of the California territory was roughly 100,000. Before the gold Rush, its population was less than 1,000. At the end of the Gold Rush, $2 billion worth of gold had been extracted. -
The California Gold Rush Begins Pt. 2
This event is significant because it connected the west coast of the United States with the highly populated east coast. People gained interest in settling on the west coast. The California Gold Rush made the United States a superpower (History.com). -
The American Civil War Breaks Out
On April 12, 1861, the first battle of the American Civil War occurred at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay. The Confederacy, which consisted of the southern, slave-supporting states, battled the Union, which was mostly northern states who were against slavery. The Union won in 1865, preserving the United States as one nation and ending the institution of slavery. This event is significant because it ended slavery in the largest slaveholding country in the world (Battlefields.org). -
Thomas Edison Works at Western Union
In 1866, after saving a station agent's son from being hit by train, Edison was offered a job as a telegraph operator. He was moved to Louisville, Kentucky where he worked the Associated Press bureau news wire. Edison requested to work the night shift so he could spend his time reading and experimenting. This event is significant because he was able to develop an unrestricted style of thinking, proving things to himself through experiments (Worldhistoryproject.org). -
Thomas Edison Applies for His First Patent
In 1868, Thomas Edison applied for the first of his 1,093 patents, the electric vote recorder. Edison hoped that legislatures would be interested in his product but he couldn't find many buyers. His invention was a financial failure. This event is significant because Edison learned that as a inventor, he would often fail. He realized that he could only anticipate what would work by figuring out what didn't work. This attitude helped him complete his most important inventions (Sonneborn 23). -
The Franco-Prussian War Breaks Out
Determined to reassert its military dominance on the European continent, Napoleon III of France declared war on July 19, 1870 against Prussia. Prussia wanted to go to war with France so they could completely break from France's influence. Prussia had the support of the southern German states which led to their victory in 1871, with the Treaty of Frankfurt am Main. This event is significant because it created a unified Germany which later became a world power and began World War II (History.com). -
Thomas Edison Builds a Factory in Menlo Park
In 1876, Edison built the first industrial research lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey. He filled the factory with intelligent workers and they carried out research under Edison's direction. Edison was credited with most of the inventions produced there. This event is significant because it was the first lab with the specific purpose of producing constant innovations and improvements in technology. It is often referred to as Edison's most important invention (Worldhistoryproject.org). -
Thomas Edison Patents the First Phonograph
On February 19, 1878, Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. It was a device that could record a sound and play it back. For the first test of the phonograph, Edison spoke the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" into the mouthpiece and it played back. This event is significant because there were no other machines like the phonograph at the time, making Edison very popular worldwide (Worldhistoryproject.org). -
Thomas Edison Patents the Light Bulb
On November 4, 1879, Thomas Edison applied for his first light bulb patent. Edison wasn't the first person to invent the light bulb but he was the first to make one that was efficient and commercially practical. He made the lightbulb using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." This event is significant because Edison made it easier for households to have light bulbs, changing their day-to-day life (Worldhistoryproject.org). -
Thomas Edison Opens His First Permanent Power Station
Edison opened a commercial electric station at the Pearl Street Station in New York on September 4, 1882. It could provide electricity to every customer within one-half mile of the building. After four months, the station lit more than 5,000 lamps for 230 customers. This event is significant because before Edison's central power station, each user of electricity had to get a dynamo (generator), which was inconvenient and expensive. Edison made the use of electricity more practical (Foster 518). -
Thomas Edison Joins the War of the Currents
In 1887, Edison joined the War of the Currents against Nikola Tesla. Edison promoted direct current (DC), in which electrical current flowed steadily in one direction. Tesla promoted alternating current (AC), in which the current's flow constantly alternated. They fought to make their electricity system the standard. Ultimately, AC won. This event is significant because AC became dominant in the electric power industry and Tesla received praise, while Edison dealt with failure (History.com). -
Thomas Edison Establishes General Electric
In 1890, Thomas Edison combined several of his business interests to form Edison General Electric. In 1892, Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Company merged to form General Electric. In the contract, Edison agreed to stop working on all of his light bulb research. This event is significant because General Electric is now a billion dollar, multinational conglomerate that owns NBC (Worldhistoryproject.org). -
The Titanic Sinks
On April 14, 1912, just before midnight, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. By 2:20 a.m. on April 15, the British ship had sunk. 700 out of the 2,200 on the ship survived. The other 1,500 went down with the ship or froze in the icy waters. This event is significant because the Titanic was deemed unsinkable and when that was proved wrong, it sent a wave of fear and sadness across the world (History.com). -
World War I Begins
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and World War I began. During the war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers). This event is significant because by the time the Allied Powers won in 1918, 16 million people had died. Also, many women joined the workforce to support men in the war or to replace men who died (History.com). -
The Great Depression Begins
In October of 1929, there was a big stock market crash that caused chaos on Wall Street and wiped out millions of investors. This began the Great Depression which lasted until 1939. The Great Depression was at its worst in 1933, with 15 million Americans unemployed and half of the banks in the country failing. This event is significant because many families lost their savings and some became homeless. The country's moral was negatively affected because of the Great Depression (History.com). -
Thomas Edison Dies
Thomas Alva Edison died on October 18, 1931 at the age of 84. Across America, people dimmed their electric lights for one minute to commemorate him and his work on the day of his funeral. This event is significant because Edison continued to work right up until his death. He could no longer produce inventions that greatly benefited society (Sonneborn 107).
