Quotes About Edison

today. By the end of 1882, Edison's company is powering electric light for the entire Pearl Street district in Lower Manhattan.

Edison was not a wholly attractive human being. He didn't scruple to cheat or lie, and was prepared to steal patents or bribe journalists for favorable coverage. In the words of one of his contemporaries, he had "a vacuum where his conscience ought to be." But he was enterprising and hardworking and a peerless organizer.

Black Thomas Edison' because of all his inventions. In fact, Edison even tried to hire Woods. Alexander Graham Bell's company bought Woods's 'telegraphony' invention.

Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that occasion was far less important than that which he thought. Edison, himself, said so! It could not have been the young man's appearance which got him his start in the Edison office, for that was definitely against him. It was what he THOUGHT

Too often we forget that genius ... depends upon the data within its reach, that Archimedes could not have devised Edison's inventions.

He did not say, "I will keep my eyes open for another opportunity, in case I fail to get what I want in the Edison organization." He said, "There is but one thing in this world that I am determined to have, and that is a business association with Thomas A. Edison.

Barnes literally thought  himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to KNOW WHAT HE WANTED, AND THE DETERMINATION TO STAND BY THAT DESIRE UNTIL HE REALIZED IT. He had no money to begin with. He had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived.

Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that occasion was far less important than that which he thought. Edison, himself, said so! It could not have been the young man's appearance which got him his start in the Edison office, for that was definitely against him. It was what he THOUGHT that counted. If the significance of this statement could be conveyed to every person who reads it, there would be no need for the remainder of this book.

Edison was not a loner. For the invention of the lightbulb, he had thirty assistants, including well-trained scientists, often working around the clock in a corporate-funded state-of-the-art laboratory!

I wanted to be an inventor, whatever I thought that meant then. I guess I was thinking of Edison or maybe James Watt. Or maybe even Newton.

If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. I was a sorry witness of such doing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety percent of his labor.

By December Edison was making public demonstrations and taking his first commercial orders. "We will make electricity so cheap," he said, "that only the rich will burn candles.

When other entrepreneurs created jukeboxes by arranging for a phonograph to play popular music at the drop of a coin, Edison objected to this debasement, which apparently detracted from serious office use of his invention. Only after about 20 years did Edison reluctantly concede that the main use of his phonograph was to record and play music.

Only after about 20 years did Edison reluctantly concede that the main use of his phonograph was to record and play music.

But selling patents was a good idea only for someone like Edison, who had ideas faster than he could put them to practice. (He had a world-record 1,093 patents issued to him in the United States and 1,500 worldwide.)

Op die manier is de elektrische stoel uitgevonden. Uitgedokterd door Edison die de gevaren van de wisselstroom wilde tonen en zijn idee vervolgens verkocht aan de Sing-sing-gevangenis waarop het tot op de dag van vandaag wordt gebruikt. Heerlijk, vind je niet? Als de wereld niet zo prachtig was, zouden we allemaal nog cynici worden.