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...

Through a video and primary source activities, students will learn about Edison's remarkable business of innovation and some of his 1,093 patented devices.

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...

Links to copies of papers written by Thomas Edison. Also includes biographical information and copies of his patents and companies.

A biographical overview of the life and many inventions of Thomas Alva Edison.

Describes Thomas Edison's inventions in chronological order from 1868 to 1915, with mention of his contribution to World War I.

Read about the life of Thomas Edison and his many inventions.

As the inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph, and the printing telegraph, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), improved the daily lives of everyday people.

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.

Brief biographical sketch of Thomas Alva Edison, inventor of the light bulb and phonograph.

Interesting biographical information, famous inventions, and quotes of Thomas Edison, one of America's greatest inventors.

This resource provides information about the famous American inventor, Thomas Edison. Find out about his childhood, some of his famous inventions, and even some of his mistakes.

A lesson plan about Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone and Thomas Edison's patent for the electric lamp. Contains good background information and historically pertinent documents. It also discusses the role corporations...

Discusses the history of the Edison phonograph and provides photos.

What a surprise to read about the several controversies engendered by the request that the Columbian Exposition be open on Sundays. This lesson plan examines the background of the main controversy and its relation to the First Amendment....

A summation of the War of the Currents featuring Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison against a backdrop of The Columbian Exposition and an execution.

A Thomas Edison film and an essay about the amusement park experience, a new leisure pastime made possible by urbanization and industrialization.

The 1880's in America were chock full of new architecture, technologies, businesses, modern conveniences such as gas and electric, operas, fashions, and much more as featured in this resource.

Students investigate the importance of failure to the process of innovation by investigating several items that were invented by accident. They share one "failure to success" story by creating a 3-panel comic strip poster, and then write...

Explains how a phonograph works and gives instructions on how to build one.

The first hydroelectric power plant, known as the Vulcan Street Plant, was powered by the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.

A learning module that begins with "The History of the Cylinder Phonograph" by The Library of Congress, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...

Do you love looking at Christmas lights? At this Library of Congress site, the question is answered on who invented the first strand of lights that now light up the Christmas season.