Remarkably, Thomas Edison did not attend a college or university and never even had a formal education. He attended school for only a few months as a child, with his mother teaching him arithmetic, reading and writing at home.
Edison spent much of his childhood in Port Huron, Mich. A curious youngster, he spent a lot of his free time reading books on his own and trying experiments in his basement. Edison believed that instead of teaching students to memorize, they should be instructed to observe nature and learn the "hands-on" way. Edison's perspective certainly worked for him, as he had 1,093 U.S. patents, more than anyone else in history.
