Edison: Genius. Showman. Executioner.Episode 131:11
The Mountain That Ate Millions
Edison risks a fortune on failed iron-ore processing before another ten-year experiment finally yields a profitable battery.
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Transcript
Edison spent 10 years and $2.5 million developing an iron-ore mining process.
He built a large plant to test whether low-grade ore could pay.
His ore separators struggled to make low-grade rock profitable.
But the mining process never became commercially practical.
Edison’s assistants tested crushed ore while he watched the results.
For Edison, a failed experiment was not the same as a finished story.
In 1899, Edison began developing an alkaline battery.
This second campaign also took 10 years to become a practical product.
I never quit until I get what I’m after.
Unlike the mining venture, the alkaline battery ultimately became his most profitable product.
Edison began organizing his businesses into one corporation.
By 1911, he had consolidated those companies into Thomas A. Edison Incorporated.
The battery finally gave Edison a practical product to sell.
Where it leaves off
The alkaline battery survived its ten-year ordeal, but Edison still had to bind his scattered companies into an organization that could carry it forward.
Sources
- Edison Biography - Thomas Edison National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)nps.govsecondary
- The Papers of Thomas A. Edison | National Archivesarchives.govsecondary
- Life of Thomas Alva Edisonloc.govsecondary
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