Thomas Edison: Inside the Mind of a Genius

Thomas Alva Edison, perhaps America’s greatest inventor created many devices that influenced the world as it entered into a new era that included electricity. Although great as an inventor and entrepreneur, his personal life was in most accounts is said to be the complete opposite. My research sought out clues that might explain some of the personal views Edison had on life, politics, and religion; and how they may have influenced his life outside the laboratory.
Thomas Alva Edison, nicknamed “Al” or “Little Al” was born on 1847 in the town of Milan, Ohio. He was the youngest of seven children; his father Samuel by tradition was a third generation farmer, and his mother Nancy a schoolteacher. At an early age Al was diagnosed with a hearing impairment, and because of this had very little formal education as teachers thought Al was mentally challenged. Being a schoolteacher, his mother Nancy decided to home school Al where he excelled in reading.
Edison learned of the mystery of death early in his childhood. He and one of his friends went out wade in a swimming hole at a nearby creek. The two jumped into the water however only Edison surfaced. As the youngster called out for his friend, only bubbles rose to the surface leaving Edison to wonder where he had gone. Edison swam to the shore where he waited for hours for his friend, only to leave for home after he failed to return. It wasn’t until the police arrived at his home did Edison say to them, “He went down the deep hole in the creek and didn’t come back.” Edison gave details of the event and was stunned when told that his friend had died.
Edison was a bright and inquisitive young man who liked to experiment in his parent’s basement. There is a story of one of Edison’s earliest chemistry experiments where he mixed various Seidlitz Powders in an attempt to create gases in an attempt allow his friend to fly. After his friend ingested the mixture, the youngster became extremely ill. When Edison’s parents discovered what had happened, his father grabbed a switch that was kept behind the old grandfather clock and applied to young Edison’s behind. Despite his mischievousness, his parents allowed him to keep his basement lab so long as they were allowed access to inspect whenever they so choose.
For economic reasons, Edison was forced to work at the age of twelve to help his parents make ends meet. This took away from his experimenting however Edison sought ways to work and also get in some studying. He began a business selling newspapers, magazines and snacks on the passenger train that went from Port Huron to Detroit, Michigan. During his layover in Detroit, Edison went to the local library where he would read and study his experimenting. It was here where he was first introduced to Isaac Newton’s Principia, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. It was said that Edison’s hearing impairment allowed him to concentrate on his studies resulting in his ability to excel in his experimenting.
Edison continued to spend much of his free time in the lab, and in his late teens began work as a telegraph operator. Edison received his first U.S. Patent, Number 90,6464, for inventing the first Vote Counting Machine. It was then that Edison decided to focus on inventing full time and decided to move to New York. He continued his work on various inventions, his primary objective improving the telegraph and sending/receiving messages using Morse code. His work led him to eventually invent the phonograph and then the light bulb. When asked about his aptitude, Edison is said to have responded, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” At the age of twenty-four Edison met Mary Stilwell who would eventually become his first wife. Together they had three children, the oldest being Marion Estelle, the second Thomas Alva Jr. and the third William Leslie. Unfortunately family life did not pull Edison away from his work. Perhaps it was because of his disappointment with his them. Edison is said to have commented of his wife, "Mrs. Mary Edison My wife Dearly Beloved Cannot invent worth a Damn!!" and then two weeks later wrote in his journal, "My Wife Popsy Wopsy Can't Invent." Perhaps this is why Edison neglected his family working tirelessly in his lab.
It wasn’t until after nine years of marriage did Edison take his first vacation, together the family traveled to northern Florida. His wife Mary began to show symptoms of some illness however that didn’t change Edison’s work habits. Two years later in 1884 at the age of twenty-nine, Mary Stilwell died of “congestion of the brain” however one doctor stated it was a brain tumor. Edison’s daughter wrote in a newspaper article that her father was “shaking with grief, weeping and sobbing.” Two years later, in 1886, Edison remarried, this time to Mina Miller, a devout Christian who tried to show Edison a life filled with God. Unfortunately Edison’s agnostic beliefs had complete disregard for religion and the existence of any higher power, and he remained true to his atheism stating “I do not believe in the God of the theologians; but that there is a Supreme Intelligence I do not doubt." Although not religious, he did live a life of his own philosophy realizing that everything that exists is based on our own beliefs. He had a practical life based on high morals based on the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments. He had a profound respect for all institutions and did not have the time nor desire to partake in any creed or dogma however said, “I know this world is ruled by Infinite Intelligence. It required Infinite Intelligence to keep it on its course. Everything that surrounds us – everything’s that exists – proves that there are Infinite Laws behind it. There can be no denying this fact – it is mathematical in its precision.”
In an interview with the New York Times Magazine in 1910, Edison was quoted as saying,
“Nature is what we know. We do not know the gods of religions. And nature is not kind, or merciful, or loving. If God made me—the fabled God of the three qualities of which I spoke: mercy, kindness, love—He also made the fish I catch and eat. And where do His mercy, kindness, and love for that fish come in? No; nature made us—nature did it all—not the gods of the religions.” During Edison’s second marriage, he and his wife Mina had three children, Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore Miller. Edison’s children from the first marriage did not approve of the relationship due to Mina’s age being closer to Edison’s eldest daughter Marion. This created a lot of friction and made growing up in the household even more challenging, specifically for Edison’s children from his first marriage. Marion felt alienated from her father and began spending more time overseas as she attended boarding school in Europe. Thomas Jr. attempted to follow in the footsteps of his father, however had several failed businesses and ultimately tried working in the family tradition of farming but failed at that as well. Edison Sr. was disappointed in his son’s lack of success and referred to him as “absolutely illiterate scientifically and otherwise.” William briefly studied at Yale University before joining the Army and serving in World War I. Afterwards he went into business for himself, invented some new designs for spark plugs, and then ultimately went into farming. Like his two older siblings, William did not get along with his father, Edison once said of William, “I see no reason whatever why I should support my son. He has done me no honor and has brought the blush of shame to my cheeks many times." Edison never did re-establish a relationship with his two oldest sons.
Being the child of the famous inventor had its own separate challenges living in the shadow of their father. Of all of the children, the most notable was Charles Edison. Charles assumed the responsibility in 1927 of taking over his father’s legacy at his company where he ran the business until its sale in 1959. He also had a career in politics serving on the Cabinet of Franklin D. Roosevelt, followed by his election to serve as Governor of New Jersey from 1941 to 1944.
The youngest of Edison’s six children, Theodore followed closest in his footsteps by graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Physics. Theodore went on to work in his father’s lab serving as one of his assistants and began inventing on his own. At the time of Theodore’s death in 1992, he held 80 U.S. Patents.
Thomas Alva Edison never did really retire, working up until the end. In January of 1931 he submitted his last application, and was awarded the patent nearly two years after his death. A few days prior to his passing, with his doctor at his side, Edison was awoke and commented to his doctor, “It is very beautiful over there.” On October 18, 1931, with his son Charles at his side, Edison passed away in his home due to complications from diabetes. It is said that Edison’s friend Henry Ford asked Charles to capture his father’s last breath in a test tube. It was Ford’s belief that one’s soul exits the body on the final breath. The test tube is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. In an interview with The Hartford Courant, Edison’s eldest daughter Marion Estelle Edison was quoted as saying,
“He may have been the Great Edison to the world, but to me he was always my intimate friend – my pal. I was away from him a great deal, but never once forgot him.”
“He was always so good natured and the best loser I have ever known. He was a great philosopher, you know. He was always an unostentatious man and liked simple things. He hated extremes in clothing, and was content with the real, wholesome things of life.” Although Thomas Alva Edison’s work habits never did change, it appears he did have a change of heart when it came to family and was more affectionate to both his second wife and their children. Edison’s doctor was quoted after the death, “Had the great inventor climbed the heights which lead into Eternity and caught a glimpse beyond the veil which obstructs our earthly vision? Who will answer? Must this question always remain hidden in the mystery of death?”

Work Cited
Nicholas A. Basbanes. “Human side of Thomas Edison uncovered in new book “ Telegram & Gazette. Worcester, Mass.: Feb 22, 1995. p. C.5

Nosotro, Rit. “Thomas Edison”. 2003. < hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b4edisont.htm> October 3, 2010.

Wolkomir, Richard. “Mr. Edison Takes a Holiday” Smithsonian Vol: 30 Issue: 9 ISSN: 0037-7333 Date: 12/1999 Start Page: 136

Edison, Marion. “Edison's Daughter Recalls Childhood Memories Of 'Dad” The Hartford Courant. Oct 20, 1931. pg. 9

Miller, Francis. “Thomas A. Edison, Benefactor of Mankind; the Romantic Life Story of the World’s” Kessinger Publishing. April 1, 2005.

Edison, Thomas. Interview of Thomas Edison” New York Times Magazine. October 2, 1910

Sheldon Hochheiser, Ph.D.
”Thomas Edison’s Children” Rutgers University. September 3, 2008