Acknowledgment: It is paramount to acknowledge that this project could not have been completed without the diligence and expertise of Dan Smith of WTVG, Ryan Wichman of WTOL, Brian Mitchell of the National Weather Service in Cleveland, and Stuart Hinson of NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. They each took time out of their busy days to help with this project, and for that, along with the work they do each day to keep our communities safe and weather aware, we are forever grateful.
The classic story goes that when Thomas Edison was born in the small room of that small brick house on a hill overlooking the Milan Canal on February 11, 1847, it was cold and snowy. This instantly prompts the question of just how cold and snowy it was. Historical figures like Thomas Edison often have their stories shrouded in myth and legend. Some truths tend to get spun or exaggerated, so I wanted to drill down straight to the facts of that special day. Was it -13°F and blizzard-like conditions, was it 69°F and sunny, or was it just an average February day somewhere in between these two extremes?
While this may sound like an easy query to conquer, answering these questions and determining exactly what that day looked like is quite difficult. Accurate weather records here in the United States only date back in most places to 1870, when Point Pleasant, Ohio native President Ulysses S. Grant established the National Weather Service, then known as The Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce. The job of recording the weather fell to the U.S. Army’s Signal Service Corps under the purview of the Secretary of War, who was required by Congress "to provide for taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the interior of the continent, and at other points in the States and Territories...and for giving notice on the northern lakes and the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the approach and force of storms."
I immediately hit an unscalable wall when trying to figure out what Thomas Edison’s birthday looked like. How can you describe the weather when official record-keeping wouldn’t exist for another 33 years? Rather than quit, I decided to call upon the experts.
Local meteorologists Dan Smith of WTVG and Ryan Wichman of WTOL both did what at first seemed impossible. Daily weather records from 1847 were found right here in Ohio, kept by Zachariah Mills, the first full-time State Librarian. According to Mr. Mills’ record, on Thomas Edison’s birthday, in Columbus, it was a cold day, hovering around the freezing point with a wind from the northwest eventually shifting to the west. What may be the smoking gun to help solve our question lies in Mr. Mills’ description of the day on the far right of the ledger: “cold and cloudy, snow”.
It is important to remember, though, that these records come from Columbus, a town located just over 100 miles from Milan. However, Zachariah Mills’ records can help us make some sound assumptions about what the weather may have been like here. The records indicate that February 1847 experienced some temperature fluctuations, but it was generally chilly around the time of Edison’s birth. Ryan Wichman pointed out, “Given that the wind direction remains west or northwest throughout the day and during the days surrounding the 11th, it is unlikely this was a heavy snowfall.” He also noted that the winter of 1847 in Ohio may have been relatively mild, according to Zachariah Mills’ daily readings, which is supported by a weather ledger kept in Steubenville, Ohio, uncovered by Stuart Hinson, a meteorologist at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. In fact, that ledger indicates it rained almost twice as many days in Steubenville in February 1847 as it snowed.
This mild winter suggests that Lake Erie may possibly be unfrozen, leaving the possibility open for the lake effect snow that we in northern Ohio have grown accustomed to over the years. A cold, yet unfrozen lake combined with a northwest wind could easily have resulted in snow on February 11, 1847. Not a large amount of snow, but perhaps enough to cover the ground or require minimal clearing. Wichman provided me with his best assessment of that day 178 years ago, stating that it was likely “A classic but chilly early February day with a cold breeze coming off Lake Erie.”
As it turns out, the weather conditions for Thomas’ birthday were indeed “classic” for February 11ths historically in Milan. What do I mean by that? Since at least 1895, the Norwalk Wastewater Treatment Plant, only 3.1 miles away from the Thomas Edison Birthplace, has recorded daily meteorological data and submitted it to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. After analyzing the last 129 February 11ths, it is clear that the average is eerily similar to what we have predicted for Thomas’ birthday. The average high temperature over the last 129 years on February 11th is 34.7°F and the average low temperature was 16.9°F. The average snowfall for February 11th historically is only two-tenths of an inch of snow, and the average snow depth for that day is only an inch and a half.
Thomas Edison’s 100th birthday in 1947, the same day that Thomas’ daughter Madeleine Edison Sloane and Thomas’ wife Mina Miller Edison opened the Thomas Edison Birthplace Museum to the public, may have looked the same as the day of his birth 100 years prior. According to the National Weather Service in Cleveland and the records from Norwalk, in 1947, the high temperature was 31°F, the low was 15°F, and while there was no recorded snow falling that day, there were trace amounts of snow on the ground.
What will Thomas Edison’s 178th birthday here in Milan, Ohio look like? Will it be a chilly and slightly snowy day like when he was born or when the Birthplace opened its doors to the public a century later in 1947? Will it feel like February 11th, 1899, when air temperatures remained in the negatives for the entire day, or will it feel like February 11th, 1932, when citizens of Milan probably rejoiced due to it being almost 70°F? There is only one way to find out which is by visiting the Thomas Edison Birthplace here in Milan, Ohio when we celebrate Thomas’ 178th birthday, on February 11th, 2025. Mark your calendars and be sure to watch the weather!
Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading
National Weather Service. 2024. “A History of the National Weather Service.” National Weather Service. https://web.archive.org/web/20240528162801/https://www.weather.gov/timeline
State Library of Ohio. n.d. “History.” State Library of Ohio. Accessed January 2, 2025. https://library.ohio.gov/about/history
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is currently a junior at Bowling Green State University. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education with a specialization in History.
For the past three years, Dillon has worked as a tour guide at the Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.
Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!
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