Thomas Edison birthplace photograph   Save
Works Progress Administration, Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: This photograph shows an exterior view of the house where inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. The house has window shutters and an open porch with an assembly of chairs, a bench, and a small table. The Edison birthplace is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a child, Edison lived in Milan and in Port Huron, Michigan. Although Edison received only three months of formal schooling, he became one of the greatest inventors of all time. Edison's inventions forever changed people's lives. Electric lights allowed people to remain active at night, whether it be reading, dancing, or listening to Edison's phonograph. Previously, with only candles or fireplaces to light homes, most people simply went to sleep once nightfall arrived. Factories also began to use electricity and electric lights. Now factories could remain open twenty-four hours per day, and soon the workday became divided into three eight-hour shifts. His improvements to the telegraph and telephone also helped make communication easier around the entire world. This image of Edison’s birthplace is among the photographs produced by the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1935 and 1943. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06394
Subjects: Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931; Milan (Ohio); Historic houses; National Register of Historic Places; United States. Work Progress Administration
Places: Milan (Ohio); Erie County (Ohio)