Thomas Edison married Mary Stilwell in 1871.
Their wedding took place on December 25, 1871, during Edison’s early career as a telegraph operator and inventor. Mary had worked at one of Edison’s businesses, and their marriage preceded his most famous achievements in sound recording and electric lighting.
The couple had three children: Marion Estelle, Thomas Alva Jr., and William Leslie. Mary died in 1884, after which Edison married Mina Miller in 1886. Edison and Miller also had three children.
The date is sometimes confused with major invention milestones in Edison’s career. Edison began serious work at Menlo Park in 1876, demonstrated the phonograph in 1877, and received his incandescent-lamp patent in 1880. His first marriage therefore belongs to the earlier telegraph and workshop period of his life.