USS Edison (DD-439) USS Edison (DD-439) USS "Edison" (DD-439), a , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Thomas Alva Edison, an inventor and businessman who developed many important devices and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the Navy during World War I. "Edison" was one of the few U.S. Navy ships to be named for a civilian. "Edison" was launched 23 November 1940 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey sponsored by Mrs. Thomas Alva Edison, widow of the inventor; and commissioned 31 January 1941, Lieutenant Commander A. C. Murdaugh
Thomas Edison of the oldest music awards in the world, having been presented since 1960. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers concedes the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award to individual patents since 2000. The United States Navy named the USS "Edison" (DD-439), a Gleaves class destroyer, in his honor in 1940. The ship was decommissioned a few months after the end of World War II. In 1962, the Navy commissioned USS "Thomas A. Edison" (SSBN-610), a fleet ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarine. Thomas Edison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped