Question: Who invented the electric light bulb?

Answer: Thomas Edison did in 1879. But it took him more than a year to find a way to make a bulb that glowed steadily for many hours.

• He worked selling candy and newspapers on a train when he was just twelve years old.


• He created over a thousand different inventions, including the phonograph, moving pictures, and a kind of electric battery.


• He built an invention factory where many experts worked together to turn ideas into things people wanted and needed.

Read these other History Maker Bios about inventors and scientists who changed our world: Marie Curie, George Eastman, Albert Einstein, Milton Hershey, The Wright Brothers.