Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He is credited with developing many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He is
Benjamin Electric Manufacturing Company is the novel way he approached a new invention. It is exactly the opposite of Edison’s method, according to reports of the working practices. When Edison got interested in a new idea it is said that, first, he researched to find out what has already been done to solve the problem. This preliminary preparation took weeks, sometimes months; the theory being to avoid duplication of effort. This period of preparation may have something to do with Edison’s alleged remark that “genius is five percent inspiration and ninety-five percent perspiration.” Yet there seems to be another type of genius in which