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
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