This week in history (on October 18, 1931, to be precise), Thomas Edison died at his home in West Orange, NJ. Edison did some of his most famous work at Menlo Park, NJ, which was opened in 1876 as his first laboratory. By the late 1880s, however, Edison had outgrown the lab at Menlo Park and moved to a lab in West Orange, where he spent the rest of his life.
The Menlo Park lab fell quickly into disrepair after Edison left, and many of the buildings were destroyed. In the 1920s, Henry Ford built a replica of the Menlo Park complex in Michigan to honor Edison’s work, going as far as to transport the remaining two buildings, as well as New Jersey soil, for accuracy.
So, what exactly did Edison accomplish at Menlo Park? Here are a few of the most impactful things he did there.
The Phonograph
This was one of Thomas Edison’s first inventions at Menlo Park, and it earned him the nickname “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” given to him by a reporter. The device was able to record a person’s voice, so it could be played back later, using primarily a tin-foil cylinder and a needle. Though it was difficult to use because of its tendency to break, it was the precursor of all recording devices.
The Carbon Transmitter
You may not have ever heard this term, I know I hadn’t until I started researching Edison’s work, but it doubtlessly has improved your life.
The carbon transmitter was a small device Edison created to improve the volume and clarity of voices on the telephone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell. The design used something called lampblack carbon. When the pressure on the carbon changed because of the movement of a diaphragm, it varied the resistance of the current. Long story short, it allowed for the telephone to be used over greater distances, and Edison’s design was commonly used until digital phones were invented.
The Light Bulb
Though many people had a hand in the creation of the electric light, Edison was the one, along with his team of researchers, who developed a long-lasting filament for light bulbs. He filed for a patent for a light with a carbon filament and listed several materials that could possibly be used for the filament. After testing over 6,000 plants, Edison finally settled on bamboo filament, which could last 1,200 hours.
Edison also commercialized the incandescent light bulb, bringing light to the world. The first public demonstration of this invention took place in Menlo Park, and soon light bulbs became household necessities.
Menlo Park was the birthplace of many influential things, the impact of which is still evident throughout the world.
Old Times, New Jersey 