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
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