Thomas E. Murray Thomas E. Murray Thomas E. Murray (October 21, 1860 – July 21, 1929) was an American inventor and businessman who developed electric power plants for New York City as well as many electrical devices which influenced life around the world, including the dimmer switch and screw-in fuse. It has been said that he "invented everything from the power plant up to the light bulb". Murray is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history after Thomas Edison, holding 462 U.S. patents in his name. However, unlike Edison, Murray did not patent the work of others under his name; the
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