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Perhaps his most important contribution was how "he helped to create a new institution for invention — the industrial research laboratory ..." <ref>http://edison.rutgers.edu/inventions.htm</ref>

Perhaps his most important contribution was how "he helped to create a new institution for invention — the industrial research laboratory ..." <ref>http://edison.rutgers.edu/inventions.htm</ref>

Edison patented over 1,000 inventions in his lifetime. His favorite invention was the [[phonograph]], who so astounded the world that he was nicknamed the "Wizard of Menlo Park." <ref>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/filmmore/transcript/index.html</ref>

Edison patented over 1,000 inventions in his lifetime. His favorite invention was the [[phonograph]], who so astounded the world that he was nicknamed the "Wizard of Menlo Park." <ref>https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/edison/filmmore/transcript/index.html</ref>

[[Homeschooled]] as a child, Thomas Edison began his marvelous career as a teenager despite being almost entirely deaf.

[[Homeschooled]] as a child, Thomas Edison began his marvelous career as a teenager despite being almost entirely deaf.

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==

* Israel, Paul. ''Edison: A Life of Invention'' (2000), 552pp; the standard scholarly biography [http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Life-Invention-Paul-Israel/dp/0471362700/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229892178&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]

* Israel, Paul. ''Edison: A Life of Invention'' (2000), 552pp; the standard scholarly biography [https://www.amazon.com/Edison-Life-Invention-Paul-Israel/dp/0471362700/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229892178&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]

* Israel, Paul, and Robert Friedel,. ''Edison's Electric Light'' (1986), scholarly study

* Israel, Paul, and Robert Friedel,. ''Edison's Electric Light'' (1986), scholarly study

* Jones,  Francis Arthur. ''Thomas Alva Edison: Sixty Years of an Inventor's Life‎'' (1908) 362 pages; [https://books.google.com/books?id=6pkNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA298&dq=intitle:thomas+intitle:edison&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES full text online]

* Jones,  Francis Arthur. ''Thomas Alva Edison: Sixty Years of an Inventor's Life‎'' (1908) 362 pages; [https://books.google.com/books?id=6pkNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA298&dq=intitle:thomas+intitle:edison&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES full text online]

** vol 3: ''Menlo Park: The Early Years, April 1876-December 1877'' (1995)

** vol 3: ''Menlo Park: The Early Years, April 1876-December 1877'' (1995)

** vol 4: ''The Wizard of Menlo Park, 1878'' (1998), 996pp  

** vol 4: ''The Wizard of Menlo Park, 1878'' (1998), 996pp  

** vol 5: ''The Papers of Thomas A. Edison: Research to Development at Menlo Park, January 1879-March 1881'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Papers-Thomas-Edison-Development-1879-March/dp/0801831040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229892178&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

** vol 5: ''The Papers of Thomas A. Edison: Research to Development at Menlo Park, January 1879-March 1881'' (2004) [https://www.amazon.com/Papers-Thomas-Edison-Development-1879-March/dp/0801831040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229892178&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]

** vol 6: '' Electrifying New York and Abroad, April 1881--March 1883'' (2007)  940pp

** vol 6: '' Electrifying New York and Abroad, April 1881--March 1883'' (2007)  940pp

* Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. Committee on St. Louis Exposition. ''"Edisonia," a brief history of the early Edison electric lighting system'' (1904) [https://books.google.com/books?id=zA0LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA61&dq=%22pearl+street%22+intitle:edison&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA63-IA1,M1 complete text online], shows many of Edison's inventions  

* Association of Edison Illuminating Companies. Committee on St. Louis Exposition. ''"Edisonia," a brief history of the early Edison electric lighting system'' (1904) [https://books.google.com/books?id=zA0LAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA61&dq=%22pearl+street%22+intitle:edison&lr=&num=30&as_brr=1&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA63-IA1,M1 complete text online], shows many of Edison's inventions