Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an inventor and businessman. He is most well known for the invention of the long-lasting practical light bulb. He holds 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as other patents abroad. He had only 3 months of official schooling and was self-educated for the rest of his childhood. He began his career as an inventor in Newark, New Jersey where he gained fame from his invention of the phonograph. His work was so widely accepted that the president of the National Academy of Sciences acclaimed his as "the most ingenious inventor in this country... or in any other".

Invention of the Light Bulb

In January of 1880 Edison acquired the patent for the light bulb. He envisioned a company that would would literally enlighten the world and replace the kerosene lamps in the average home. Therefore, Edison founded the Edison Illuminating Company which later became General Electric. He developed a fierce rivalry with Nikola Tesla, another visionary inventor, who had developed the method of electricity through alternating current as opposed to Edison's direct current. The two waged a publicity war over which form of electricity was more effective.

Direct Current vs. Alternating Current

As electricity began to rise in popularity, consumers were faced with the option of Edison's direct current method of electricity and Tesla's alternating current. Edison's direct current could only service costumers who were within a mile of the power plant while alternating current systems operated at a much higher voltage and could reach a larger area. To combat this Edison began to publicly attack alternating current systems claiming that the higher voltage was too dangerous. This coupled with the rising number of fatalities due to the infancy of the electrical industry. This war grew to be rather morbid as Edison went as far as to publicly electrocute an elephant to show the fatal power of alternating current. However Edison's stockholders were not pleased with his efforts and he was forced to leave Edison Illuminating Company.

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