Famous Homeschoolers for
December 1, 2006

ANSEL ADAMS  (1902 – 1984)
Photographer

Ansel Adams is arguably one of the greatest photographers of the 20th Century.  He was also a homeschooler.  Unable to stand the confinement and the tedium of the classroom, Ansel Adams continually disrupted his lessons until his formal education was ended at the age of 12.  From that point on, Ansel was home-schooled in Greek, the English classics, algebra and the beauty of the waters surrounding his home in the San Francisco Bay area.  In 1916, he received a Kodak Box Brownie camera from his parents.  This gift allowed him to begin recording the images of the natural beauty around him, a passion he continued throughout his lifetime.   In 1979, Adams published his first successful book, Yosemite and the Range of Light and, in 1980, the Wilderness Club established the Ansel Adams Conservation Award.  In his autobiography, Adams reminds us “ The only things…that compatibly exist are the creative works of the human spirit.”

THOMAS ALVA EDISON (1847 – 1930)
Inventor

Thomas Edison entered school in Port Huron but was considered to be a dull student.  Because of hearing problems, he had difficulty following his lessons and his school attendance was sporadic.  The solution to these problems was homeschooling by his mother, a former teacher.  Edison became a voracious reader and at age 10, he set up his first laboratory in his basement.  In 1877, Edison invented the carbon-button transmitter that is still used in telephone speakers and microphones.  In December of the same year, he unveiled the tinfoil phonograph.  In the late 1870s, Edison established the Edison Electric Light Company and in 1879, he publicly demonstrated his incandescent electric light bulb.   At the time of his death in 1931, Edison was experimenting on rubber from goldenrod.  Edison’s inventions had a true and profound affect the shaping of modern society.