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Edison National Historic SiteHistoric Photo of Laboratory
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Edison National Historic Site
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Thomas Edison taking notes in his chemistry lab.
NPS Photo
Thomas Edison taking notes in his chemistry lab.
The Edison Test
 
If you wanted to work as an executive for Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated in the early 1920s, you had to pass a test.  Edison himself chose the questions, which ranged from geography to astronomy to economics to fiction to history.  The inventor believed that an intelligent, well educated person should know most of the answers.  After all, he knew them and he had never been to college.  In fact, he had mostly been home schooled by his mother!
 
Photograph of Thomas Edison at the age of fourteen years.  

Did You Know?
There is a rumor that Edison was actually born in Mexico, based on his middle name Alva. However, Alva was the name of a family friend, Captain Bradley. When he was young, Edison's nickname was "Al," from his middle name Alva.

Last Updated: September 20, 2007 at 09:52 EST