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Photo of Thomas A. Edison

Thomas A. Edison

Producer, Actor, Director
Born February 11, 1847Died October 18, 1931 (84 years)
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor. 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 the long-lasting, practical 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 botanic laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida in collaboration with businessmen Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey that featured the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. He was a prolific inventor, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as patents in other countries. Edison married twice and fathered six children. He died in 1931 of the complications of diabetes.
Movies & Shows on Plex
  • American Grindhouse
Known For
  • Frankenstein
  • Blacksmith Scene
  • The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
  • Electrocuting an Elephant
  • Annie Oakley
  • The Patchwork Girl of Oz

Filmography

2022
2021
2020
History 101 (TV Series) · as Self (archive Footage)
2019
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound · as Self (voice) (archive Footage)
2019
2019
Carl Laemmle · as Self
2016
2015
The First Film · as Self
2015
Edison · as Himself (archive Footage)
2011
The Extraordinary Voyage · as Self - Filmmaker (archive Footage)
2010
The Light Bulb Conspiracy · as Self - Inventor
2008
Murnau, Borzage and Fox · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited)
2008
2008
Westinghouse · as Self
2007
2006
Niagara Falls · as Self
2005
Edison: The Invention of the Movies · as Himself (archive Footage)
2002
Naqoyqatsi · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited)
2002
2000
1998
1998
1982
Before the Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter · as Himself (archive Footage) (uncredited)
1964
Horizon (TV Series) · as Self
1961
1950
The Golden Twenties · as Self (archive Footage)
1940

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