| Thomas Edison | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Thomas Alva Edison |
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Born |
February 11, 1847 |
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Died |
October 18, 1931 |
Origin[]
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed 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 early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.
Edison was raised in the American Midwest. Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions. In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, that featured the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. With 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as patents in other countries, Edison is regarded as the most prolific inventor in American history. Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 due to complications from diabetes.
Thomas Edison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped make him an icon and he has made appearances in popular culture during his lifetime down to the present day. He is often portrayed in popular culture as an adversary of Nikola Tesla.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Future Eve (1886): Edison creates what he argues is the perfect woman, the android Hadaly, in order to cure his friend Lord Ewald's infatuation with a singer named Alicia, who is represented as shallow and immoral.
- Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898): An unofficial sequel to The War of the Worlds in which Edison finds and reverse engineers Martian technology.
- To Mars With Tesla; or, the Mystery of the Hidden World (1901) - An adventure where Tesla, aided by Young Edison (Thomas Edison's fictional nephew) and a couple of scientists, seeks to communicate with Mars.
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Funny Pages v2 #2
- The Story of Light
- 48 Famous Americans
- Science Leads the Way
- A Picture Story of the United States
- Watch Out for Big Talk!
- Kid Eternity #3, 13
- True Comics #11-12
- Black Magic #21
- Tip Top Comics #132, 134
- Green Hornet Comics #12
- Thrilling Comics #65, 74
- Blue Bolt v2 #5-6
- It Really Happened #7,9
- New Heroic Comics #39
- Tip Topper Comics #14
- True Comics #11
Notes[]
- Edisonade is a category of fantastic fiction with young inventors travelling to distant parts and having adventures. Not only did the genre use his name, but a number of Thomas/Tom Edisons appeared in the early adventures.