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 Edison was incorrectly listed on his birth certificate as "Edison". The small town of Alva just east of Fort Myers took Edison's middle name. In 1883, the City Hotel in Sunbury, Pennsylvania was the first building to be lit with Edison's three-wire system. The hotel was renamed The Hotel Edison upon Edison's return to the city on 1922. Lake Thomas A Edison in California was named after Edison to mark the 75th anniversary of the incandescent light bulb. Edison was on hand to turn on the lights at the Hotel Edison in New York City when it opened in 1931. Three