The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation contains more than its fair share of oddities, but one has always caught my attention. Housed in a small display case behind massive Industrial Age electric generators, there is a curious artifact. Inside is a simple glass test tube containing Thomas Edison’s last breath. How did such a macabre souvenir of the great inventor come to be in this museum. In fact, how did it come into being at all.
Thomas Alva Edison died October 18, 1931 a the ripe old age of 84. During his long life as one of America’s preeminent inventors, he became a mentor and friend to Henry Ford. In fact, the museum was originally named after him. Edison’s famed Menlo Park labs are preserved just next door in Greenfield Village. Looking back at funeral customs, such as posing the dead for lifelike pictures with their loved ones or weaving locks of hair into mementos, saving a last breath in a jar doesn’t seemed too far fetched. The questions remain though. Did this really happen and who came up with the idea?
The test tube wasn’t found until after Henry Ford’s death, so the back story is a bit nebulous. Rumors were that Ford asked Edison’s son Charles to bottle the last breath for him. I’ve even seen stories that Ford intended to bring Edison back to life by catching his soul before it departed. Surprisingly, it was difficult to dig up the answers.
After much digging, I found the real story. Charles had written a letter back in the 1950s detailing what had happened. While his father lay dying, Charles noticed one of Edison’s test tube racks sitting open on a table. He asked the doctor to seal the tubes with paraffin wax. Thus, the contents of the test tube is merely the ambient air from the room and not strictly Thomas Edison’s last breath. Charles indicates he gave a tube to Henry Ford as a memento mori of his friend. I was not able to find any reference to the remaining five tubes from the set.
Today, the test tube sits as a peculiar reminder of the friendship between the inventor and the industrialist. Visitors can find the display case in the Made in America: Power exhibit in the Henry Ford Museum, along with other smaller inventions by Thomas Edison. Now that we’ve discussed Edison’s dying breath, read more about his humble beginnings in Milan, Ohio.
Read about a few more unique items in the Henry Ford Museum collection
Rosa Parks BusThomas Edison’s Last Breath
