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 A. Edison, Inc. Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Thomas A. Edison, Incorporated (originally the National Phonograph Company) was the main holding company for the various manufacturing companies established by the inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison. It operated between 1896 and 1957, when it merged with McGraw Electric to form McGraw-Edison. The National Phonograph Company was incorporated on 27 January 1896. It was restructured and reincorporated as Thomas A. Edison, Inc. on 28 February 1911. The Edison Manufacturing Company became a division of Thomas A. Edison, Inc. at this time. The company had an industrial research laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey where up to