Thomas Alva Edison was a great scientist of America. He performed many experiments in his childhood. He was fond of asking questions and he was never satisfied till he got the right answer. One day, when he asked a question to his teacher and all students laughed, the teacher lost her patience. She asked his parents to take him out of school. The mother of Edison proved the best teacher for him. He learnt a lot from her. He performed a number of experiments. One day, he made a servant girl drink the worms pump mixed in water. The poor girl fell ill. Once he sat on the eggs and spoilt his clothes. That day he got a good beating from his mother. Edison was very fond of reading books. His father gave him 25 cents for every book he read. He set up his laboratory at a very early age. When he was only 12, he took up a job in the railway. Later on, he published a newspaper. When he got enough money, he set up a laboratory in his railway wagon. One day, a small piece of phosphorus fell on the floor of the carriage and it caught fire. This was enough to dismiss him from the railway service. While living with a friend, he repaired a machine in a factory and got an opportunity to get a job in that factory. In 1878, he invented a gramophone. The same year, he started working on an electric lamp. He promised the people that he would give them an electric bulb in two years. He kept his promise and gave the first electric bulb in 1880.