Inventor Thomas Edison died in 1931.

Thomas Edison was one of the most prolific inventors in history, taking out over 1000 patents throughout his lifetime. The technologies and devices he developed have revolutionized modern society. Born in Milan, Ohio, Thomas Alva Edison started life with the disadvantage of having a hearing problem, and he struggled in school. Nonetheless, he displayed a keen interest in science and chemistry, setting up a laboratory in his parents’ basement at age ten. After his mother complained of the smell of the chemicals in his lab, Edison went to work for the railroad. While there, he saved the life of a young boy who had fallen in the path of an oncoming train. The boy’s father, in repayment for Edison’s bravery, taught him how to use the telegraph, which led to one of Edison’s first major inventions, the repeating telegraph. Edison's ingenuity and perseverance affected the course of technological development, including the invention of many devices, such as the motion picture camera and the incandescent light bulb, still in regular use today.

EDSITEment
Thomas Edison's Inventions in the 1900s and Today: From "New" to You! (3–5) aims to help students understand Edison's influence on life and technology, both in the 1900s and today. There are four activities wherein students consider modern technology around them, study the standards of life and technology in 1900, research Thomas Edison's influence in his time and investigate how Edison's influence is still at work in modern society. Students study primary sources, research specific inventions and create a pictorial timeline.

Illuminations
In Shedding Light on the Subject: Function Models of Light Decay (9–12), students develop and analyze exponential models for the behavior of light passing through water.

Science NetLinks
Inventions 1: Edison and the Light Bulb (K–2) is the first of a two-part series on technology and inventions. In this lesson, students learn how inventions are created to solve problems or improve the way things are done. The revolutionary invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison is used as an example. In the second lesson, Inventions 2: The Impact (K–2), students learn what inventors have to think about when making an invention, particularly the kinds of effects they can have on people.

In Too Bright at Night? (6–8), students consider and discuss some of the benefits and drawbacks of technology as it relates to light pollution. Students consider the negative consequences of nighttime lighting. They discover that there are unintended consequences as well as benefits resulting from our ability to illuminate the night.  

EconEdLink
In Economic Spotter: Inventors and Entrepreneurs in the Industrial Age (3–5), students identify Thomas Edison as an inventor, innovator and entrepreneur. The lesson helps students see the relationship between inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs and industries.

ReadWriteThink
In Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction (6–8), students use an historical timeline and their prior knowledge to predict when specific inventions were produced and explain their reasons for placing an invention in a particular year.