11 Best Thomas Edison Inventions

Thomas Edison is probably America's most famous inventor. He is most known for making the first commercially accessible incandescent lightbulb, but overall he had his name on over 1,000 patents. As a child, Edison was easily distracted, so his mother unenrolled him from school and started teaching him at home, according to Biography. By the time he was 11 years old, it was obvious that he loved learning and was able to seek knowledge on his own without the need for a formal education.

By his early 20s, Edison had created several inventions, including a vote recorder and an improved stock ticker. He went on to open a laboratory in New Jersey to research and create even more projects with the help of many assistants. When he got older, Edison spent less time on inventions and more time as an industrialist and businessman. Still, it's his work as an inventor that has left its biggest mark in America, and many of the items we enjoy today were either invented by Edison or improved upon because of his ingenuity. Check out some of the best Thomas Edison inventions below.

Contrary to popular belief, a man named Humphry Davy, not Thomas Edison, invented the first electric light in 1802, according to Bulbs.com. Other inventors experimented with lightbulbs for decades, but none of their designs were good for commercial use. That changed when Edison created what is now considered the first practical incandescent light. Between 1878 and 1880, he and his colleagues considered thousands of different ways to produce an efficient incandescent lamp, according to the Franklin Institute. This type of lamp uses electricity to heat a piece of material known as a filament, which glows and becomes a source of light.

Other inventors had worked on incandescent lamps too; however, the light was too powerful and bright for the rooms of an average home. Edison stored the filament in a glass vacuum bulb with the goal of using less electrical power. At first, his lamp only burned for a short period of time. Eventually, he used a carbonized cotton thread filament, and the filament lasted for nearly 15 hours before burning out. The lightbulbs people use today still resemble the one Edison received a patent for in 1880.

Coal mining was big business during the early 20th century, but it wasn't the safest industry for workers. In 1909, there were 20 coal mine-related disasters, the most that had ever been recorded, according to the National Museum of American History. Two years prior, 362 coal miners died at the Monongah Coal mine in West Virginia, so it spurred Congress to create the U.S. Bureau of Mines in order to do something about working conditions in the industry. As part of the reform, Thomas Edison was asked to invent a safe electric lamp that the miners could wear on their heads. 

By 1914, electricity was available in homes, but electric lighting in mines was a much costlier application. Edison wound up creating a rechargeable battery pack, and his invention was known as the Edison Cap Lamp. Miners wore the battery on their belts, and a flexible cord attached to the lamp on the cap. The lamp lasted for 12 hours and was recharged after the miner finished his shift. It would automatically turn off if the bulb broke, for safety purposes.

In 1869, when he was 22 years old, Thomas Edison was working as a telegraph operator. Fortunately for America, he was fired from the position. Had he not been let go from his job, he may not have built his first patented invention: the electric vote recorder. It used a switch and electric current to record ballots, according to Rutgers. After a person selected "yes" or "no," the current would travel to a clerk's desk. The clerk would roll a metal roller over a chemically treated piece of paper and would be able to tabulate the votes.

The goal was to create a simple and quick way to vote that didn't require roll call voting and would cut down on filibustering, which enabled legislators to persuade people to change their votes. One of Edison's colleagues took the invention to Washington, D.C., but Congress did not want to use a machine that fast tracked the voting process. Roll-call voting continued until 1881 when a voting machine invented by Anthony Beranek was allowed for use in general elections, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. What happened to Edison's invention? It was never used. Still, his subsequent inventions made him a superstar in America.

Up until 1875, Thomas Edison rented spaces in buildings in Newark, New Jersey, where he set up his laboratories. Then he moved to Menlo Park, 12 miles south of the city, to set up a permanent lab in a two-story building, according to Rutgers. He put a machine shop on the first floor and a chemical laboratory on the second floor. It was considered a state-of-the-art laboratory at the time, and something never before seen in the United States. The building was dedicated to scientific research, and Edison claimed he would make minor inventions every 10 days and big ones approximately twice a year. 

It became a model for subsequent R&D labs in America. Edison spent the first year at his lab working on telegraph and telephone technology for Western Union. He then produced a carbon-button transmitter and tinfoil phonograph. By 1878, 25 men were working in his lab, and at its peak in 1880 between 50 and 60 men worked at Menlo Park. The facility and staff enabled him to get ahead of other inventors at the time. He was able to build, test, and alter inventions quicker and more efficiently. Plus, he could work on several projects at once.

In 1899, Thomas Edison started the Portland Cement Company. It was innovative in its applications, but it struggled financially. It ended up shutting down in the 1920s despite having supplied concrete for Yankee Stadium, according to Atlas Obscura. But before it went bankrupt, Edison decided to use concrete for a unique purpose: building homes. He filed a patent in 1917 to create a single-molded structure with cement roofs, bathtubs, floors, etc. The goal was to create a fireproof, easy-to-clean, and affordable home. The inventor thought this invention would also alleviate housing shortages.

Unfortunately, building the homes was not cost-effective. Builders needed to invest at least $175,000 in equipment alone. In addition, Americans saw concrete homes essentially as low-income houses and not the elegant and desirable dwellings that Edison advertised them to be. Some concrete homes were constructed in New Jersey and still exist today. Edison also made some concrete furniture, such as cabinets and bedroom sets. But his concrete homes and furnishings never caught on, and his company lost millions. However, he was onto something because these days affordable 3D-printed houses are starting to make waves. They are stronger, quicker to make, and more affordable than traditional homes, according to the Seattle Times.

When Americans answer the phone, typically the first thing they say is "hello." It's also a common phrase to use when being introduced to people for the first time in person. Believe it or not, the word has only been around for two centuries, according to NPR. And Thomas Edison brought it into vogue. When people first started saying "hello," it was often used to attract someone's attention or to express surprise. Then the telephone was invented. Edison encouraged people to say "hello" when answering the phone.

In contrast, Alexander Graham Bell thought people should say "ahoy." The term had been in circulation for over a century, and despite its nautical routes it was a legitimate greeting. At the time, Edison believed the telephone would be used for business reasons only with open line parties on both ends. But there needed to be a way to figure out how to contact the other party to let them know they wanted to speak. Edison explained it to a friend, writing in a letter, "I don't think we shall need a call bell as Hello! can be heard 10 to 20 feet away. What do you think?" reports the New York Times.