Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Joshua Lionel Cowen: Inventor of Lionel Trains
Joshua Lionel Cowen was born in 1877. Just two years later, Thomas Edison invented his first light bulb. Eight years before, the first railroad had joined the eastern United States to the West. Cowen grew up at a time when trains were the fastest and the most exciting way to travel, and people were just learning what they could do with electricity.
Joshua was a curious child. He liked playing with mechanical toys, hiking, and playing ball. He tinkered with electricity, too. When he was seven, he built a wooden train. He made a tiny steam engine to run it. The engine blew up, and it ruined his parents' kitchen.
Joshua was a good student, but he really didn't enjoy school. He tried going to college after high school. He was unhappy there. He decided he would rather work than go to school. His first job was with a dry cell battery company. After that, he worked for a company that made battery-operated lamps. He spent his spare time experimenting with batteries and electricity.
Joshua came up with several interesting projects because of his experiments. In 1899, Cowen got his first patent. He created a device used to ignite the powder that photographers of his day used to take flash pictures. It was called the flash-lamp. This invention prompted him to invent a fuse for underwater explosives. He sold more than 24,000 of his fuses to the U.S. Navy. The money he made from the fuses was used to start his own manufacturing company. The Lionel Manufacturing Company was opened in 1900.
