Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 and invented over 1,000 things, including the phonograph, the Morse telegraph, and the light bulb. These inventions were helpful innovations that improved people's lives and are still used today. Edison worked as an inventor from a young age and made $40,000 from his invention of the Morse telegraph, dying on October 18, 1931 after a prolific career bringing many useful inventions into the world.