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Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phongraph and a long lasting light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

The above information was taken from the Edison article on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, based on the GNU Free Documentation License.

Links:

Edison-The American Experience has a kids' area and teacher's guides

The Edison Papers

The Edison Museum

list of books about Edison

Resources:

DVD

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