Picture of Thomas Edison
The Bettmann Archive

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison was an American inventor who lived between 1847-1931. He patented over a thousand inventions, including the light bulb, which generates light using electricity passed through a filament.

Edison also invented the phonograph (which records and plays back sound), and a motion picture machine used to make movies. He credited hard work for his success and used to say that "genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration".


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