Edison's mother was a teacher and she apparently understood the way her son thought. However, the great inventor was so clever that he did not want the following generation to believe that school is not important and that one can be successful without the need for education. Later in his life he encouraged education by sponsoring scholarships for high school graduates. You usually hear the expression 'self-made man' and you think of great people like Thomas Edison, who was a self-educated man who made his way to fame with persistence and hard work, whose curiosity led him to be the greatest servant of humanity, and who was one of the pioneers to encourage research. (D. Johnson, J. Johnson and J. Hilborn, 1989). The following pages trace the stations in the life of this great mind, the inventions that he offered to the world, and the conditions that made him a remarkable icon in the field of inventions. .
Arthur E. Kennelly (1932) gives us a detailed account of the history of Edison's family and ancestors. He mentions that Edison's great-grandfather and grandfather were long-living persons; the former lived for 104 years and the latter lived for 102 years. Edison's father also lived for 92 years. All of them were endowed with strong bodies and tolerance against suffering. Before moving to Ohio and settling there, Samuel Edison participated in the insurgent against the British government. When the rebellions lost Samuel and his wife had to escape to Milan, Ohio. They settled there and there they had their seven children. They stayed there several years and when Edison was seven years old the family left Ohio to settle in Michigan. From his early childhood Edison was an extraordinary person. We know that most children are curious and they ask a lot of questions but the case with Edison was little bit different. The questions that were asked by the little boy did not find their answers in the mouth of adults, a matter which he used to express his surprise upon.
