Abstract
December 1877 to May 1878 was a hectic period for Edison, culminating in the sale of his carbon microphone patent rights to Western Union. The period began spectacularly in December 1877, with Edison’s demonstration of a revolutionary invention, the phonograph. The Phonograph made Edison a celebrity but led to a busy schedule touring the country demonstrating it while still working long hours at inventing. By May, Edison was haggard and ready for a break, which fortuitously came in the form of an invitation to join a scientific expedition to Rawlins, Wyoming to observe a solar eclipse in July 1878.
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Wills, I. (2019). Failure and Success. In: Thomas Edison: Success and Innovation through Failure. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, vol 52. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29940-8_3
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