IndexScience and TechnologyPolitics and GovernmentWar and RevolutionPhilosophyI am Thomas Edison. You probably know me best for developing the phonograph and the electric light bulb, but I innovated and invented so much more. I own 1,093 US patents and am credited with creating the first industrial research laboratory1. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayScience and TechnologyWith the kind of reputation I have, you should expect me to be a great advocate for the advancement of science and technology. I was homeschooled with my mother, who was one of the great inspirations in my life. She inspired me to work hard, if only to not disappoint her, and she is where much of my motivation early in my life came from. When I was 19, in 1866, I became a telegraph operator, working for Western Union on the news channel. . I asked for the night shift, so I could have more time during the slow news hours to read and experiment. Maybe I experimented a little too much, though, as it cost me my job a year after I accepted it. One night I spilled sulfuric acid, which ran across the floor to my boss's desk, and the next morning I was fired2. Inspired by my work as a telegrapher, I worked on several inventions, such as a stock exchange, but my first patent came on June 1, 1869 for an electric election recorder. Another telegraph operator purchased a $100 interest and took it to Washington, D.C. to show it to a congressional committee. The president was not impressed, not appreciating the greater speed the recorder allowed for counting votes. The slowness of the voting method made it possible to create obstructionism and motivate others to change their vote3. Over the course of my life, many more patents have come along, which have always inspired me to revisit them and advance my various inventions. I moved to New York City where I improved my telegraph inventions. I had some success after working in sales to telegraph companies, and my big break came when I sold a stock for $40,000. With the profits I made I started a laboratory in Newark, New Jersey, and after a few years I moved to Menlo Park, where I developed the first industrial research laboratory4. I created the first phonograph, the first of hundreds of new inventions and innovations here. One of these, perhaps the most famous, was the incandescent light bulb. Light bulbs had already been invented, or at least proposed, but it was I who made them practical for general use. Others burned out quickly or were too expensive.5. My other great contribution to popular culture was the “cinetograph,” or movie camera. I built a “kinetoscope,” a simple machine that allowed people to watch moving images through a small hole. Within a few years, kinetoscopes were selling well in Europe, helping me finance my new laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey. I continued to invent, helping the United States during World War I and becoming the fourth most prolific inventor in history. Much of my success in business came from my ability to create mass production systems, just like my friend Henry Ford did. Human Rights and Self-Determination I patented much of my work to protect it from others who wanted to profit from it. I am a strong supporter of the patent system and its extension, capitalism. If anyone has an idea, they should be able to.