THOMAS ALVA EDISION

Thomas Alva Edison was born on Feb 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. His parents, Samuel Ogden Edison, Jr. and Nancy Matthews Elliott, had seven children, Thomas was the youngest. Three of his siblings died in childhood.Thomas Alva Edison was one of the greatest inventors in history. Some of his best known inventions are the light bulb, the mimeograph and phonograph. His most important invention was the central power station that provided electricity to multiple users, and became the foundation of his company, now known as General Electric. He patented over 1,000 inventions in his lifetime.
Model of Pearl Street generating plant Edison's development of central-station lighting systems for cities was one of the great achievements in world history because it brought electricity out of the laboratory into actual commercial use. His Pearl Street (New York City) electricity generating station introduced four key elements of a modern electric utility system: reliable central generation, efficient distribution, a successful end use (in 1882, the light bulb), and a competitive price. It was a model of efficiency for its time. At first it served 59 customers for about 24 cents per kilowatt hour. By the late 1880s, power demand for electric motors (especially for elevators and streetcars) brought the industry from mainly nighttime lighting to 24-hour service and dramatically raised electricity demand for transportation and industry needs. By the end of the 1880s, small central stations dotted many U.S. cities; each was limited to a few blocks area because of transmission inefficiencies of direct current (DC). Edison fought a mighty battle with George Westinghouse, who developed a competing system based on alternating current (AC).