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| | Mrs. Edison was furious at the teacher and the public school. She immediately pulled young Thomas out of school and never sent him back. She then homeschooled him by reading from the Bible, and his father encouraged young Thomas to read the classics. Young Thomas became an voracious reader and, by the age of 12, became interested in science, chemistry and the works of Isaac Newton. Young Thomas also became an entrepreneur as a teenager, first publishing a newspaper and then memorizing Morse Code so that he could get a job transmitting messages over the telegraph by age 15. He was a very hard worker who would put in 12-hour days, 6 days a week, and then invent in his spare time. | | Mrs. Edison was furious at the teacher and the public school. She immediately pulled young Thomas out of school and never sent him back. She then homeschooled him by reading from the Bible, and his father encouraged young Thomas to read the classics. Young Thomas became an voracious reader and, by the age of 12, became interested in science, chemistry and the works of Isaac Newton. Young Thomas also became an entrepreneur as a teenager, first publishing a newspaper and then memorizing Morse Code so that he could get a job transmitting messages over the telegraph by age 15. He was a very hard worker who would put in 12-hour days, 6 days a week, and then invent in his spare time. |
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| − | This homeschooler changed the world, and is considered by many historians to have been the most influential person in the entire world over the ''last millennium'' (1000 years). Known as the "Wizard of Menlo Park," which is a town in northern New Jersey next to the town named after him (Edison), Edison did his best work in New Jersey. This historian wrote about him:<ref>From "The Heroes Of The Age: Electricity And Man," http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html</ref> | + | This homeschooler changed the world, and is considered by many historians to have been the most influential person in the entire world over the ''last millennium'' (1000 years). Known as the "Wizard of Menlo Park," which is a town in northern New Jersey next to the town named after him (Edison), Edison did his best work in New Jersey. One historian wrote about him:<ref name="Edison">From "The Heroes Of The Age: Electricity And Man," http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html</ref> |
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| | :"Thomas Edison was more responsible than any one else for creating the modern world .... No one did more to shape the physical/cultural makeup of present day civilization.... Accordingly, he was the most influential figure of the millennium. ..." | | :"Thomas Edison was more responsible than any one else for creating the modern world .... No one did more to shape the physical/cultural makeup of present day civilization.... Accordingly, he was the most influential figure of the millennium. ..." |
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| | * motion pictures (movies) | | * motion pictures (movies) |
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| − | A biographer credited Edison's it was this his highly individualistic style of acquiring knowledge that eventually led him to question scores of the prevailing theories on the workings of electricity | + | A biographer credited Edison's "highly individualistic style of acquiring knowledge that eventually led him to question scores of the prevailing theories on the workings of electricity."<ref name="Edison"/> |
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| | Bessemer Process 1870s: new process made steel easy to produce | | Bessemer Process 1870s: new process made steel easy to produce |