Thomas Edison the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Edison a celebrity. Joseph Henry, president of the National Academy of Sciences and one of the most renowned electrical scientists in the US, described Edison as "the most ingenious inventor in this country... or in any other". In April 1878, Edison traveled to Washington to demonstrate the phonograph before the National Academy of Sciences, Congressmen, Senators and US President Hayes. The "Washington Post" described Edison as a "genius" and his presentation as "a scene... that will live in history". Although Edison obtained a patent for the phonograph in
Edison (poem) Edison (poem) Edison is an epic poem by Czech poet Vítězslav Nezval. It was written in 1927. Later it was included in the poetic book "Básně noci" ("Poems of the Night") which was published in 1930. The main hero of the poem is American inventor Thomas Alva Edison, considered by the author to be a modern genius. Nezval's work is a praise of human activity, technology, and science, but also an expression of anxiety about civilisation. Nezval compares the inventor's work to writing poetry. He points out that every creative work demands much toil and courage. After Edison's death in