England was the leading European colonial power and had already established much of its overseas empire by the beginning of the 19th century. France was second, with its holdings in Southeast Asia and in North Africa, both. of these being established during the 19th century.
Thomas Edison married Mary Stilwell on December 25, 1871 (he was 24, she was 16).   She died on August 9, 1884.   He was married a second time, on February 24, 1886, at â¦the age of 39. His second wife's name was Mina Miller.
The American inventor Thomas Edison held hundreds of patents, mostly for electrical devices and electric light and power. Although the phonograph and the electric light bulb are best known, perhaps his greatest invention was organized research.