THOMAS EDISON AND THE BIRTH OF THE STOCK TICKER

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Thomas Edison The Stock Ticker
And The Birth Of
In the winter of 1869, a young Thomas Edison made
a significant career move. He resigned from his
job at the Western Union office in Boston,
Massachusetts, and declared his intent to focus
on bringing his inventions to life. Eighteen days
later, Edison filed his second patent
application, an invention he named the
"Stockbroker Printing Instrument." This
invention was a black-and-gold contraption,
intricate like a clock, designed for the growing
market of alphanumerical stock ticker, which
provided real-time updates on stock and gold
prices for subscribing brokers. Edison soon
realized that Boston was not the place to fulfill
his ambitious dreams. His financial backer, E.
Baker Welch, declined to support his
"magnetograph" printer, which aimed to replace
messy and unreliable batteries. Additionally,
Western Union refused him permission to test his
improved double transmitter on their busy
long-distance
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wires. However, Edison sought the opportunity to
use a line owned by the Atlantic Pacific
Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York. With
just 40 from Welch and mounting expenses, Edison
arrived in Rochester on April 10, 1869. Gaining
access to AP's New York line was not easy, and
when he finally did, the test failed due to poor
insulation and the complexity of his apparatus.
Edison, ever determined, declared success in The
Telegrapher and traveled to New York City, where
he believed success awaited him. Edison's
arrival in New York marked a turning point in his
life. He sensed the city's potential for
success, where people bought without the need for
appeal. Edison's initial days in New York were
tough he roamed the streets at night with just
enough money for a cup of coffee and apple
dumplings at Smith McNell's restaurant. He
would fondly recall the taste of those
dumplings, which kept him going. On his third
day in the city, Edison visited the Samuel Laws
Gold Stock Reporting Telegraph Company on
Broadway. There, he encountered a crisis when the
office's general transmitter jammed. Edison
swiftly fixed the issue, impressing Dr. Laws, who
hired him on the spot as an operator-mechanic,
offering a monthly salary of 100. This marked
the end of Edison's days of sleeping on shavings
and surviving on modest food. Edison's
relentless work ethic and technical expertise led
to his appointment as superintendent of the
entire operating plant by August. He made
significant improvements to a stock ticker
designed by Laws and Edward Calahan, creating a
new, simpler, and more efficient version.
However, Laws sold his company to the
competition, causing Edison to lose his position
once again. Nonetheless, Edison was already
known in New York for his patenting of several
inventions and his technical articles. He
partnered with Franklin Pope, the former
superintendent of the Laws company, to establish
a "Bureau of Electrical and Telegraphic
Engineering" in the city. Edison's journey in
New York took a dramatic turn during the infamous
"Black Friday" on September 24. Jay Gould
attempted to corner the gold market, leading to a
hectic trading session that saw prices skyrocket
and drop on the stock ticker. Edison, up on a
telegraph booth, watched the chaos with a
gold-leaf dolphin nearby. Surprisingly, Edison
and his colleagues stayed calm because they
hadn't invested any money in the stock
market. In the end, Edison's determination,
smart skills, and quick thinking paved the way
for his success in electrical and telegraphic
engineering, with the stock ticker playing a
crucial
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role in his journey. His work in the world of
stock tickers was just the beginning of his
remarkable career as one of history's most
celebrated inventors and entrepreneurs.