Wichita eagle., 1889-02-02
THOMAS A. EDISON.
The Simple Romance OF the Wiz
ards First Marriage.
His Second Wife the Daughter of an
Akron CO., Millionaire-His Marvellous
Genius for Appropriating Profit
able Ideas.
[Chicago MALL


able Ideas.
[Chicago MALL
The announcement came recently that
MIR. Thomas A. Edison, the inventor, had
been married to Miss Nina Miller, daugh-
ter of an Akron millionaire. Mr.. Edison
was widower, his first wife having died
some two years since at their home in Mem
10 park.
Mr.. Edison's almost numberless inven-
lions have made his name almost as fainil-
lar to the newspaper readers as that of any
other living man. Though now famous
the world over he was until within the past
dozen years in very humble circumstances.
He was born at Milan, O., February II,
1s45, and when twelve years old began to
earn his living as peanut boy" on the
Grand Trunk railroad. All that he knew
about books had been taught him by his
mother. HIS earliest noticed development
was in the direction of electrical ap-
plianceS, which he examined and studied
as we'll as he could from the operations Of
the telegraph lines along the road. Later
an operator, whose child's life he had
saved, taught him telegraphy and he soon
began life as an operator in little coun-
try office in Michigan. As he grew expert
he was transferred to Toledo, Cleveland
and then to Cincinnati, where he became
known as the fastest operator in the office.
He could take more words in given time
than any other operator, and he always
wrote whatever he took in copperplate
hand, as easy to re ad as print. When not
busy sending or receiving messages he was
invariably experimenting with his instru-
ment and its connections, and always
seemed to be thinking of something about
which he never talked. He was utterly
careless of his dress and personal appear
ance and he was known Familiarity as
'.Di1ty-Shirt Edison" and sometimes as
''the dreamer"
9 W6lle he was in the Cincinnati office
man named Nicholson originated the idea
of Sc nding two signals over the same wire
at tn e same time, but made it work after
fashi on, and never with complete success.
Edison caught at the idea at once. If two
soun could be sent, why not two messagesa
And SO he worked on the idea until he per-
fecte the quadruplex system, by which
four and even six messages are now sent
over the same wire at the same time. This
brouj ,ht him some fame, aud he went to
New York, where he suggested the print
ing telegraph for gold and stock quotations
and was employed by the Gold and Stock
Con- lpany at high salary to perfect his
mac hines, being at liberty to experiment as
he leased and give them the result of his
disc overies.
A this t.me he advertised for half dog
en- iris to operate MS gold end stock ma
chill les and assist in his laboratory and
woI 'kshop and among tfiose who applied
wal; one who SO pleased his fancy that he
ref Used to employ her, but asked permission
to call at her home and visit her. This was
gra tnted, and within g few weeks she be-
Cal ne the young in yentor's wife. The mar.
ria d life which followed this brief and
raj her romantic coIr5ship was a happy
the ugh not long one. After their remov-
al 20 Menle Park, n. j., III 1876 her health
far led, and about two years ago she died,
aft Ell having lived TO see der husband ad.
va nee to the very front rank as an in
We, ltor.
1 lis inventions which for the past ten
We, RS have followed SO fast upon each 9TH
er's heels as to keep two worlds in con-
stat 1t state of wondcrment, have all, or
nea rly all, been in the nature OF develop
they had been unable to perfect. He was
amu ng the first to perfect the tele-
phoI le, his device for transmitting sound
bein the most perfect in use. After this
he bI ought out the phOnograph which, al
thou, yh thing of little use, brought him
more generally into public notice than
any d hing he has before or since invented
1t is aid that another man named Leo
Scott lad invented something of the kind
nearly twenty years before, but had never
brough it to perfection, and Edison's at
tention was turned to it one day while ex-
perimei ting with his telephone. The
stylus Al tached to the thin diaphram of the
Mt pricked his finger and drew
blood, IN vibration being caused by the
action O; the voice. 1t then occurred to
him thai, if the voice had sufficient force
to prick q re skin, it could register itself so
that it ecu id be mechanically reproduced
He works on this idea till he reproduced
the phone, raph. 1t is said that he once
claimed he could prove that it was possible
for man talk hole through a plank, /
and that hA rugged mechanical device
with an aug II attachment, and connected
it with the ibrating diaphram of a tele-
caused by tn 9 voice would actually pro-
duce the opel alton described.
After the monograph came the micro
tosimeter, the aerophone. the meGaphone,
the photomea IT. the electric light and 9th
ar inventions TOO numerous 30 mention. .
His patents ns number nearly one thou /
sand The ma gaphone was combination
Of ear and 50 eaking trumpets, by which .
two persons ca uld converse at distance
Of mile apar> !, and the aerophone was a
device for bril- ging steam 10 the aid of the
voice so that IS power migas be increased
q great numba of times, and therefore be
heard at a grea distance. u was expected
that this might be made useful as a means
Of communities ton between ships at sea
but it was ne yer sufficiently developed 10
be made usefu for that or any other pur.
pose.
In 1878 20 a nd 80 he gave mis- attention
almost entirely to the development of the
electric light, and in this, as il other things,
took up another mans experiments and
deas nd carried them on to perfection,
produce ug the incaadescent carbon lamp
BE has eean time grown wealthy, and has
plenty o. time to devote TO matters OF
dress and personal appearance, which in
his early o avs he 50 tboughtlessly neglected
A CANCERS ROMANCE
Away from Him.
A San FRI pcisco dspstoA 10 the New
York World yves ht Of Novelist Robert