Curated OER
National Park Service: The Invention Factory:thomas Edison's Laboratories
This Teaching With Historic Places lesson plan about Thomas Edison's laboratories is filled with maps, readings, critical thinking questions, and photographs related to Edison's labs and inventions. This site explains and details the...
Rutgers University
Thomas Edison Papers: Biography of Thomas Edison
The first person to make the storage battery practical, with 147 patents, Edison's life is a testimony to invention. This biography, in outline form, is in two parts; go to 1879 site after this.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Timeline of Thomas Edison's Inventions
Describes Thomas Edison's inventions in chronological order from 1868 to 1915, with mention of his contribution to World War I.
A&E Television
History.com: 6 Key Inventions by Thomas Edison
Edison's genius was improving on others' technologies and making them more practical for the general public. Thomas Edison applied for his first patent in 1868, when he was just 21 years old. The famous inventor's first brainchild was...
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Thomas Edison's Places of Invention
An article by Paul Israel from the Prototype newsletter discusses the various laboratories used by Thomas Edison as he was developing his inventions.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Thomas Edison National Historical Park: Edison Biography
Here is a very detailed biography of Thomas Edison ranging from his boyhood and his work as a telegrapher, moving on to his invention of the phonograph and incandescent light bulb, and finally, a description of his laboratories where he...
Other
Earliest Voices: Thomas Edison
This resource offers historic voice recordings of Thomas Edison. There is a recording of animal sounds, and a speech given at an electrical exhibition in 1908. A biography and downloadable images of him are also included.
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford: Thomas A. Edison and the Menlo Park Laboratory
This site, presented by the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, offers a peek into the life and inventions of Thomas Edison. Content is focused mainly on Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory and his invention of the first practical...
Rutgers University
Thomas Edison Papers: Edison's Patents
This site offers an exhaustive list of 1,093 patents granted to Thomas Edison. There is also a graphic representing his annual output available. Hyperlinks to much more information. Included are the actual drawings of inventions...
Other
Edison Birthplace Museum: Patents Granted to Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison is one of the world's greatest inventors and has been responsible for more inventions than any other inventor. Here is a chronological listing of the over 1,000 patents he was granted during his lifetime.
Science Struck
Science Struck: Facts About Thomas Edison
Read about the life of Thomas Edison and his many inventions.
Other
History of Recording Technology: Edison's Invention of the Phonograph
Click through the pages on this site to read about Edison's development of the phonograph as well as a discussion of Edison's rivals who were seeking to develop a similar product. Read about the changes in the ways to record sound as the...
Rutgers University
Rutgers: The Thomas Edison Papers
Links to copies of papers written by Thomas Edison. Also includes biographical information and copies of his patents and companies.
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies
Mocomi: Thomas Edison Biography
Interesting biographical information, famous inventions, and quotes of Thomas Edison, one of America's greatest inventors.
Rutgers University
Blueprint for Change: The Life and Times of Lewis H. Latimer
An extensive look at the inventor, Lewis Latimer, from the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University. Read essays about his life and inventions, the culture in Boston which encouraged his work, and his life outside his inventions. A...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: What Edison Teaches Us About Success
In this interactive lesson, learners examine Thomas Edison's character traits and how they contributed to his becoming one of the greatest inventors in history. In this interactive lesson, students watch videos to gather evidence about...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Industrialization and Big Business, 1870 1900: Inventors of the Age
In the Industrial Revolution, new products and inventions spurred the growth of big business. Learn about some of these inventions and the people who created them, for example, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Tracing the Roots of America's Motion Picture Industry
In the late 1800's, Thomas Edison and his fellow inventors were key in the American film industry's boom.This web site provides a podcast and accompanying transcript tracing the roots of the film industry in America. Podcast [21:27]
Rutgers University
Thomas Edison Papers: Latimer's Patents
Find a list of patents issued to African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer, to him individually or with another inventor. Clicking on the invention takes you a diagram of the invention as well as its description submitted to the U.S....
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Thomas Alva Edison
A biography of Thomas Edison, the "confused" young student who ended up being one of the greatest inventors in history. Offers a brief list of his many important inventions.
Other
Kidcyber: Thomas Alva Edison
A biographical overview of the life and many inventions of Thomas Alva Edison.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Thomas Alva Edison
This site from The Great Idea Finder presents a lengthy biography of Thomas Edison, followed by a wealth of suggested resources including books, movies, and the Internet.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Thomas Edison
A photograph of Edison and an interview of Edison by Theodore Dreiser that displays the inventor's convictions about progress in America.