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Birth
Thomas Edison was born in Milan, OH. He was born as the youngest of 7. However, he moved to Port Huron, Michigan when he was just 7 years old. -
Homeschooled
Once he moved, he only went to school for 12 weeks because he was deemed "difficult" by his teacher and didn't like to be in a real school. Therefore, his mother pulled him out of school and began to teach him at home. By age 11, he was very smart and loved to read books. He began to teach himself about many important things. -
Employed
After saving a 3 year olds life at the train station, the father of the child taught Edison how to operate a telegraph. At age 15, Edison was employed as a telegraph operator and traveled all around the midwest working for the people that were fighting in the civil war. -
Another move
At age 19, Edison moved to Louisville, Kentucky so he could work for "The Associated Press". Edison excelled at his job because of his previous work as a telegrapher. However, once the machines began to use sound, Edison had trouble because of his partial deafness. -
Returning home
Edison finally returned home to find his mother falling into a mental illness and his father was out of work. He realized he needed to take control of his life and moved to Boston to work for the Western Union Company. -
Becoming an inventor
At 22 years old, Edison moved to New York and developed his first invention, an improved stock ticker named the Universal Stock Printer. The Gold and Stock Telegraph Company was so impressed, they paid him $40,000 because of his creation. -
First Kentucky Derby
The horse, Aristides, and his rider, Oliver Lewis, crossed the finish line before every other horse and rider at the event at the first ever Kentucky Derby. -
Development of the phonograph
Edison finally began to develop the phonograph which brought him a lot of worldwide fame. The machine however, was not able to be bought for another 10 years. -
The lightbulb
After buying Woodward and Evans' patent and making improvements on his current prototype, Edison was granted a patent for his own improved light bulb. At this point, Edison began to manufacture his newly patented invention and put it on the market. -
US-China treaty
The two countries signed a treaty that allows the U.S. to restrict immigration of chinese labor. -
President shot
President Garfield was less than 4 months into his term as the 20th president of the US when he was shot in the back by Charles J. Guiteau. The shot was not instantly fatal but, Garfield died 11 months later because of the shot. -
First motion picture
Edison became the first person to project a motion picture so he held the world's first motion picture screening at in New York City. Around this time he developed a battery to power a car but the gas engine was deemed as a more efficient way to travel. He then used this battery in cooperation with Henry Ford to create the Model T. -
Death of the Queen
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom died at the age of 81 which ended her reign from 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901. -
Panama Canal
After many years of construction, the Panama Canal was finally open to traffic. The US president Jimmy Carter signed a treaty that gave the canal to Panama. -
US joins WWI
At this point, World War I had recently started 3 years before the US decided to break its diplomatic relations with Germany. Then 3 days later the US decided to join in on the World War -
Death
Thomas Edison had gotten old and was diagnosed with diabetes. This disease would later catch up to him which would cause his death because of problems keeping up with the condition.