Edison Award Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is one of the oldest music awards in the world, having been presented since 1960. The first Edisons — named after the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Alva Edison — were awarded in October 1960 at the inaugural "Grand Gala du Disque", held at the Kurhaus hall in the coastal resort of Scheveningen. The broadcast, which was a joint venture of TV broadcaster AVRO and the Netherlands' major record companies, featured dozens of acts and went on for hours. In
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.