Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Michigan Dearborn Edison's Last Breath
AO Edited

Edison's Last Breath

A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.

Dearborn, Michigan

Added By
Dylan Thuras
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  spookylibrarians/Flickr
  Cory Doctorow/Flickr
  Cory Doctorow/Flickr
  Cory Doctorow/Flickr
  Cory Doctorow/Flickr
Buckminster Fullers Dymaxion House   musebrarian/Flickr
Edison’s Last Breath, pictured in it’s current display in the museum’s Wind and Power area   welpitslauren / Atlas Obscura User
Thomas Edison   Jason Michael Walker / Atlas Obscura User
The case where the test tube can be found   Ahuntley / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Even great industrialists have heroes. Such was the case of Henry Ford and his idol Thomas Edison.

Ford grew up on a rural un-electrified farm, and as a young man he followed Edison's meteoric career as the inventor rose to become a national icon. Edison was Ford's role model, and as a young man Ford took a job at the Edison Illuminating Company working his way up to chief engineer.

In 1896 Ford was 33 and, though still working for Edison Co., had created his first experimental automobile—the Ford Quadricycle—during his off-time. At an Edison company party in New York, Ford had his first chance to meet his hero Edison, and was even able to explain his new automobile to the prolific inventor. Edison was impressed, and is said to have slammed his fist down and shouted "Young man, that's the thing! You have it! Your car is self contained and carries its own power plant." Edison himself had been working on the idea, but had only been considering electricity as the power source, so the idea of a gas engine was a new and somewhat novel one.

The words comforted Ford tremendously, who immediately set out to build a second prototype which became the Model-T. The two men became fast friends and would go on camping trips together along with naturalist John Burroughs, botanist Luther Burbank (creator of the Russet Burbank Potato), Harvey Firestone of Firestone Tires and, occasionally, President Harding.*

When Edison became confined to a wheelchair, Ford brought an extra one to his estate so they could race. At a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the lightbulb, Edison ended his speech with a nod to Ford: "As to Henry Ford, words are inadequate to express my feelings. I can only say that in the fullest meaning of the term, he is my friend."

It's no surprise that Ford wanted something to remember Edison by after he passed away in 1931. As the legend goes, Ford asked Thomas Edison's son Charles to sit by the dying inventor's bedside and hold a test tube next to his father's mouth to catch his final breath. Ford was a man with many eccentricities (as was Edison) including some interest in reanimation and spiritualism, and some say that he was attempting to capture Edison's soul as it escaped his body in hopes of later reanimating the inventor.

The truth of the story is somewhat less intense, but has a fairly close resemblance to the legend. While Charles did not hold up a test tube to Edison's lips as he lay dying, there were a series of eight test tubes very near his bed.

In the words of Charles: "Though he is mainly remembered for his work in electrical fields, his real love was chemistry. It is not strange, but symbolic, that those test tubes were close to him at the end. Immediately after his passing I asked Dr. Hubert S. Howe, his attending physician, to seal them with paraffin. He did. Later I gave one of them to Mr. Ford."

The test tube itself didn't turn up until 1950 when it was catalogued in the Ford estate after Clara Ford's passing, and then promptly lost again until 1978 when it was discovered "in its cardboard mailing tube along with the hat and shoes under one of the display cases in an exhibit entitled, 'Henry Ford—A Personal History' in the Henry Ford Museum. It would then be discovered that the tube was labeled "Edison’s Last Breath?"

There is a further mystery and irony of this "last breath" test tube. It would seem as if Edison had quite a last breath indeed, as the Edison estate holds a collection of 42 test tubes all supposedly containing Edison's last breath.

Regardless of the hoopla over the last breath, the test tube is quite touching in its meaning. Although both men were known for all sorts of poor behavior towards their loved ones and mistreatment of employees, between them at least, there was clearly a profound mutual respect and admiration. The test tube stands as a last gift of friendship, memory, and inspiration from one inventor to another.

The museum has many other wondrous exhibitions in addition the Edison's Last Breath test tube (which can be found just inside the door to the right) including the Wright brothers' bicycle shop, Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House, George Washington's camp bed, and both the rocker in which Lincoln was shot and the car in which JFK was assassinated.

*There is a story that on one of these camping trips the men got into an accident on the way back. A farmer pulled the car from the mud with his old Model-T. Starting with Ford the men introduced themselves to the farmer as "the man who invented that tractor,""the man who made those tires," "the man who invented the lightbulb," and as the president of the United States, to which the farmer replied by pointing to Burbank and saying "and who is he, Santa Claus?"

Related Tags

Thomas Edison Strange Science Memento Mori Relics And Reliquaries Retro Tech Henry Ford Day Of Rivals Collections Inventions

Community Contributors

Added By

Dylan

Edited By

mbison, welpitslauren, Ahuntley, Jason Michael Walker

  • mbison
  • welpitslauren
  • Ahuntley
  • Jason Michael Walker

Published

April 28, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2004/july.asp#more
  • http://www.corpse.org/archives/issue_1/palmer.html
  • http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/873/is-thomas-edisons-last-breath-preserved-in-a-test-tube-in-the-henry-ford-museum
  • http://www.hfmgv.org/museum/exhibits.aspx
  • http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=105
Edison's Last Breath
20900 Oakwood Blvd
Henry Ford Museum
Dearborn, Michigan, 48124
United States
42.300086, -83.232907
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Dymaxion House

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

The Hallmark Collection at the Henry Ford Museum

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

Owl Night Lunch Wagon

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dearborn

Dearborn

Michigan

Places 4
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Dymaxion House

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

The Hallmark Collection at the Henry Ford Museum

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

Owl Night Lunch Wagon

Dearborn, Michigan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dearborn

Dearborn

Michigan

Places 4
Stories 2

Related Stories and Lists

For Sale: A Wire From Thomas Edison's 1880 City Lighting Demo

objects of intrigue

By Vittoria Traverso

100 Wonders: Edison's Last Breath

100 wonders

By Dylan Thuras

Stolen Brains and Last Breaths: 6 Relics of Science

relics

By Dolly Stolze

Curious Fact of the Week: Edison's Last Breath

science

By Allison Meier

Related Places

  • Fremont, California

    Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

    This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.

  • Tesla Coil

    Los Angeles, California

    Griffith Observatory's Tesla Coil

    High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.

  • All of the restored planes are kept in pristine condition.

    Polk City, Florida

    Fantasy of Flight

    The world's largest private aircraft collection.

  • Caleu Caleu Department, Argentina

    Argentine Vintage Funeral Cadillacs

    The clients of these mysterious hand-crafted funeral cars took their last ride in style.

  • Dover, Delaware

    Johnson Victrola Museum

    Museum houses an impressive display of the origin and artistry from the now-quaint invention's history.

  • Said to be Mozart’s Skull

    Salzburg, Austria

    Mozart's Skull

    Mozart's skull may be held in this collection, but definitive proof continues to elude scientists.

  • Cienfuegos, Cuba

    Mal Tiempo Steam Locomotives

    Four antique Baldwin trains are kept on display in the Mal Tiempo train depot.

  • The monument overlooks the potomac river, where the first steamboat sailed

    Shepherdstown, West Virginia

    Birthplace of the Steamboat

    A monument marks the location of the first successful steamboat demonstration.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.