“Many failures did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”

“Many failures did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up” is often credited to American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), but it’s not known that he ever said it. “Sometimes it is afterwards given to those who suffer themselves to be defeated, to learn how close they were to success” was cited in print in November 1918; had Edison said this, he surely would have been credited for it. “Many of life’s failures are men who did not know how close they were to success when they gave up” was cited in print in 1973—well after Edison’s death.
   
 
Wikiquote: Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life worldwide into the twenty-first century.
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Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
. This is presented as a statement of 1877, as quoted in From Telegraph to Light Bulb with Thomas Edison (2007) by Deborah Hedstrom, p. 22
     
HathiTrust Digital Library
Google Books
Marconi Service News
Volume 3    
November 1918
Pg. 24, col. 2:
Sometimes it is afterwards given to those who suffer themselves to be defeated, to learn how close they were to success.
 
11 December 1920, Ironwood (MI) News Record, pg. 11, col. 4:
Sometimes it is afterwards given to those who suffer themselves to be defeated, to learn how close they were to success.
 
Google Books
Yorkshire Journal
Volume 1973
American Yorkshire Club
1973
Pg. 7:
Many of life’s failures are men who did not know how close they were to success when they gave up.
 
Google News Archive
25 December 1985, Albany (GA) Sunday Herald, pg. 7E, col. 1 ad:
MIKE RUDD
“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
(Ogletree Olds—ed.)
 
9 April 1995, Kerrville (TX) Daily Times, “Good attitude can help you overcome obstacles” by Laurinda Boyd, pg. 6C, cols. 3-4:
Thomas Edison once wrote, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
 
PayScale Career News
20 Inspirational Quotes for Job Seekers
Leah Arnold-Smeets, PayScale
Jul 16, 2013
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16. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.—Thomas Edison