History in Light

One of the things we take for granted is the power of the electric light bulb. On this day in 1882, Thomas Edison officially lit the first commercial light bulb. Soon, the days where light came from gas lamps and candles only were to be gone. Thomas Edison became one of America’s great inventors. But, not before he had suffered from scarlet fever which lead to deafness. In school, he was forced out after three months. However, he continued on with his education through reading. Thomas Edison would go on, not only to invent the light bulb, but the phonograph and the motion picture camera. Just think where we would be today, in technological terms, if Thomas Edison gave up on learning after all the trouble he went through in school. Where would we be? Thomas Edison was one of America’s greatest inventors with a story of overcoming the odds leading to success.