"Edison" redirects here. For other uses, see Edison (disambiguation).
Thomas Edison
Edison c. 1922
Born
Thomas Alva Edison
(1847-02-11)February 11, 1847
Milan, Ohio, U.S.
Died
October 18, 1931(1931-10-18) (aged 84)
West Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
Burial place
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Education
Self-educated; some coursework at Cooper Union
Occupations
Inventor
businessman
Years active
1877–1930
Known for
List
Edison effect
Edison light bulb
Edison screw
Edison's Phonograph Doll
Electric pen
Edisonian approach
Edison–Lalande cell
Acoustic telegraphy
Carbon microphone
Etheric force
Fluoroscopy
Electric power distribution
Grasshopper telegraphy
Kinetoscope
Nickel–iron battery
Phonograph
Phonomotor
Quadruplex telegraph
Tasimeter
War of the currents
Founder of General Electric
Spouses
Mary Stilwell
(m. 1871; died 1884)
Mina Miller
(m. 1886)
Children
6, including Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore
Relatives
Lewis Miller (father-in-law)
Awards
Matteucci Medal (1887)
John Scott Medal (1889)
Edward Longstreth Medal (1899)
John Fritz Medal (1908)
Franklin Medal (1915)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (1920)
Congressional Gold Medal (1928)
Signature
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman.[1][2][3] He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.[4] These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world.[5] He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.[6]
Edison was raised in the American Midwest. Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions.[4] In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, that featured the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. With 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as patents in other countries, Edison is regarded as the most prolific inventor in American history.[7] Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 due to complications from diabetes.
^Adrian Wooldridge (September 15, 2016). "The alphabet of success". The Economist. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
^Sproule, Anna (2000). Thomas Alva Edison: The World's Greatest Inventor (1st U.S. ed.). Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press. ISBN 978-1-56711-331-0.
^"Hangout – Thomas Edison". state.nj.us. State of New Jersey.
^ ab"Con Edison: A Brief History of Con Edison – electricity". Coned.com. January 1, 1998. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
^"The Wizard of Menlo Park". The Franklin Institute. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
^Walsh, Bryan (July 15, 2009). "The Electrifying Edison". Time. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
^Boyer, Paul S., ed. (2001). The Oxford Companion to United States History. Oxford University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-19-989109-2. OCLC 57680178.
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric...
ThomasEdison State University (TESU) is a public university in Trenton, New Jersey. The university is one of New Jersey's 11 senior public institutions...
The ThomasEdison Center at Menlo Park, also known as the Menlo Park Museum / Edison Memorial Tower, is a memorial to inventor and businessman Thomas Alva...
2200–2400 K). Light bulbs with a carbon filament were first demonstrated by ThomasEdison in October 1879. These carbon filament bulbs, the first electric light...
as "Lord Edison", he was a son of ThomasEdison and Mina Miller Edison. Charles Edison was born on August 3, 1890, at Glenmont, the Edison family home...
ThomasEdison House is a historic house located in the Butchertown neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. The house is a shotgun duplex built around 1850...
"most fascinating" entrepreneurs in the United States and called him "Edison's rightful heir". Kurzweil grew up in Queens, New York City. He attended...
Miller Edison (July 6, 1865 – August 24, 1947) was an American community activist and the second wife of inventor and industrialist ThomasEdison. She was...
Lake Thomas A Edison (also known as Thomas A. Edison Lake and Edison Lake) is a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest and in Fresno County, California...
Continental Edison is a French manufacturing and marketing company of electrical equipment established in 1882 by ThomasEdison. Continental Edison was established...
ThomasEdison National Historical Park preserves ThomasEdison's laboratory and residence, Glenmont, in West Orange, New Jersey, United States. These were...
conglomerate. During 1889, ThomasEdison (1847–1931) had business interests in many electricity-related companies, including Edison Lamp Company, a lamp manufacturer...
Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, ThomasEdison. The studio made...
inventor ThomasEdison, and founder of Calibron Industries, Inc. He was the third child of Edison with his second wife, Mina Miller Edison. He was born...
Edison laboratory or laboratories refers to one of American inventor and businessman ThomasEdison's labs: the original Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory...
of the electrical illumination system being built in the 1880s by Thomas A. Edison in New York City. The need for equipment in the development of a large-scale...
Edison and Ford Winter Estates contain a historical museum and 21 acre (8.5 ha) botanical garden on the adjacent sites of the winter homes of Thomas Edison...
Sweets, Clark reveals that his middle name is "Thomas", and they joke that essentially his name is "ThomasEdison". During season 10, he admits that Arastoo...
Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings (1946), p. 6. ThomasEdison, Introduction to The Life and Works of Thomas Paine, New York: Citadel Press, 1945, Vol. I...
ThomasEdison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped make him an icon...
is a list of Edison patents. ThomasEdison was an inventor who accumulated 2,332 patents worldwide for his inventions. 1,093 of Edison's patents were...
Edison screw (ES) is a standard lightbulb socket for electric light bulbs. It was developed by ThomasEdison (1847–1931), patented in 1881, and was licensed...
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the...
Diamond Discs, were manufactured by Edison's National Phonograph Company from 1896 on, reorganized as Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1911. Until 1910 the recordings...
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