- Perhaps most famous for his invention of the incandescent light bulb, Thomas Edison's greatest contribution was the development of the world's first central electric light/power station. Edison's had only three months of formal education, although thereafter his mother tutored him. He had his first job at the age of 12, with his income going for books and materials for his chemical laboratory. A railway station agent taught him Morse code, and at the age of 15 Edison was manager of a telegraph office.

His first inventions were the transmitter and receiver for the automatic telegraph. Edison's first major invention was a stock ticker for printing stock exchange quotations in brokers' offices. With the proceeds from that invention, $40,000, he established a small shop and laboratory in Newark, NJ. Giving up manufacturing, he moved his laboratory to Menlo Park, NJ, where the electric lamp was developed. The first large central electric power station was on Pearl Street in New York City and produced enough power for 7,200 lamps. Success of this venture led to many others.