Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many important devices. "The Wizard of Menlo Park" was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention. In 1880 Edison founded the journal Science, which in 1900 became the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Tributes

The town of Edison, New Jersey, and Thomas Edison State College, a nationally-known college for adult learners in Trenton, New Jersey, are named for the inventor. There is a Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum in the town of Edison.

Related Topics:
Edison, New Jersey - Thomas Edison State College - Trenton, New Jersey - Thomas Alva Edison Memorial Tower and Museum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Edison Medal was created on 11 February 1904 by a group of Edison's friends and associates. Four years later the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE), later IEEE, entered into an agreement with the group to present the medal as its highest award. The first medal was presented in 1909 to Elihu Thomson, and surprisingly to Tesla in 1917. The Edison Medal is the oldest award in the area of electrical and electronics engineering, and presented annually "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering or the electrical arts."

Related Topics:
Edison Medal - AIEE - IEEE - Elihu Thomson - Tesla

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Life magazine (USA), in a special double issue, placed Edison first in the "100 Most Important People in the Last 1000 Years," noting that his light bulb "lit up the world."

Related Topics:
Life magazine - Year - Light bulb

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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, and retains that name today.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Port Huron Museums, in Port Huron, MI, restored the original depot that Thomas Edison worked out of as a young newsbutcher. The depot is appropriately been named the Thomas Edison Depot Museum. The town has many Edison historical landmarks including the gravesites of Edison's parents.

Related Topics:
Port Huron, MI - Thomas Edison Depot Museum

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The destroyer USS Edison (DD-439) was launched in 1940 in his honor.

Related Topics:
USS Edison (DD-439) - 1940

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In recognition of the enormous contribution inventors make to the nation and the world, the Congress, pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 140 (Public Law 97 - 198), has designated February 11, the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison, as National Inventors' Day

Related Topics:
February 11 - National Inventors' Day

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~