Thomas Edison
<p ><b>Thomas Alva Edison</b> (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_from_the_United_States" title="People from the United States" class="mw-redirect" >American</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventor" title="Inventor" class="mw-redirect" >inventor</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Businessman" title="Businessman" class="mw-redirect" >businessman</a>. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph" title="Phonograph" >phonograph</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camera" title="Movie camera" >motion picture camera</a>, and a long-lasting, practical electric <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_bulb" title="Light bulb" class="mw-redirect" >light bulb</a>. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park",<sup id="cite_ref-Wizard_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#cite_note-Wizard-3" >[3]</a></sup> he was one of the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventors" title="Inventors" class="mw-redirect" >inventors</a> to apply the principles of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_production" title="Mass production" >mass production</a>and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_laboratory" title="Research laboratory" class="mw-redirect" >research laboratory</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Walsh_4-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#cite_note-Walsh-4" >[4]</a></sup>
Edison was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prolific_inventors" title="List of prolific inventors" >prolific inventor</a>, holding 1,093 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Edison_patents" title="List of Edison patents" >US patents in his name</a>, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. More significant than the number of Edison's patents was the widespread impact of his inventions: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_light" title="Electric light" >electric light</a> and power <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilities" title="Utilities" class="mw-redirect" >utilities</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_recording" title="Sound recording" class="mw-redirect" >sound recording</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_pictures" title="Motion pictures" class="mw-redirect" >motion pictures</a> all established major new industries world-wide. Edison's inventions contributed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_communication" title="Mass communication" >mass communication</a> and, in particular, telecommunications. These included a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_ticker" title="Stock ticker" class="mw-redirect" >stock ticker</a>, a mechanical vote recorder, a battery for an electric car, electrical power, recorded music and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_picture" title="Motion picture" class="mw-redirect" >motion pictures</a>.
His advanced work in these fields was an outgrowth of his early career as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegraph" title="Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" >telegraph</a> operator. Edison developed a system of electric-power generation and distribution<sup id="cite_ref-coned1_5-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#cite_note-coned1-5" >[5]</a></sup> to homes, businesses, and factories – a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Street_Station" title="Pearl Street Station" >power station</a> was on Pearl Street in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan" title="Manhattan" >Manhattan</a>, New York.<sup id="cite_ref-coned1_5-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#cite_note-coned1-5" >[5]</a></sup></p>