Edison Park, Chicago Edison Park, Chicago Edison Park (formerly Canfield) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, in North Side, Chicago, Illinois. It consists entirely of the Edison Park neighborhood, and is named after Thomas Alva Edison, who gave his blessing to this community namesake in 1890. According to the 2000 Census, its population is 11,259. Edison Park has one of the highest concentrations of Irish ancestry in Chicago, where they make up over three-fourths of the neighborhood's population. Located between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago River this area served as a local watershed divide. The Chicago River flowed
Thomas Parker (inventor) Thomas Parker (inventor) Thomas Parker FRSE MICE (22 December 1843 – 5 December 1915) was an English electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. He patented improvements in lead-acid batteries and dynamos, and was a pioneer of manufacturing equipment that powered electric tramways and electric lighting. He invented the smokeless fuel Coalite. He formed the first company to distribute electricity over a wide area. He was described by Lord Kelvin as "the Edison of Europe". Parker was born at Lincoln Hill in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, son of Thomas Wheatley Parker and Ann "née" Fletcher. His father was a moulder at the Coalbrookdale Ironworks.