Thomas Robins (inventor) Thomas Robins (inventor) Thomas Robins, Jr. (September 1, 1868 – November 4, 1957) was an American inventor and manufacturer. He was born in September 1, 1868, in West Point, New York to Thomas Robins, Sr. He attended Princeton University. In 1891 he began work on a conveyor belt for carrying coal and ore for Thomas Edison and his Edison Ore-Milling Company in Ogdensburg, New Jersey. His conveyor belt received the grand prize at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and first prizes at the Pan-American Exposition and Saint Louis Exposition. Based on his invention he started the Robins Conveying Belt Company
Thomas Edison Museum, though Edison never visited there. The Port Huron Museum, in Port Huron, Michigan, restored the original depot that Thomas Edison worked out of as a young news butcher. The depot has been named the Thomas Edison Depot Museum. The town has many Edison historical landmarks, including the graves of Edison's parents, and a monument along the St. Clair River. Edison's influence can be seen throughout this city of 32,000. In Detroit, the Edison Memorial Fountain in Grand Circus Park was created to honor his achievements. The limestone fountain was dedicated October 21, 1929, the fiftieth anniversary of the creation