Thomas Edison Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He is credited with developing many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He is
Thomas Edison of the oldest music awards in the world, having been presented since 1960. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers concedes the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award to individual patents since 2000. The United States Navy named the USS "Edison" (DD-439), a Gleaves class destroyer, in his honor in 1940. The ship was decommissioned a few months after the end of World War II. In 1962, the Navy commissioned USS "Thomas A. Edison" (SSBN-610), a fleet ballistic missile nuclear-powered submarine. Thomas Edison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped