Spirit of America Bookstore
Thomas Alva Edison
[1847-1931]
![Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931] tinted studio portrait](images/ThomasAlvaEdison-tinted.jpg "Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931] tinted studio portrait") |
short profile
timeline direct current
|
"Edison is the new Gutenberg. He has invented the new printing."
— Vachel Lindsay [1879-1931], in 1915
"Genius is one percent inspiration, and ninety-nine percent perspiration." "To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." "I always invented to obtain money to go on inventing."
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
the Wizard of Menlo Park
Thomas Edison was a rather unscrupulous businessman. He refused to keep his word with Nikola Tesla, who quit his job at Edison's labs in 1885; their grudges made the AC/DC rivalry of the 1890s bitter on both sides. Edison also pirated movies from Europe, including "A Trip To The Moon" [1902] by Georges Méliès, for distribution in the Unites States.
Thomas Edison entry at Wikipedia
Thomas Edison credits [1895-1922] at Internet Movie Database
search for Thomas Edison books {returns 400+ titles} at Amazon
search for Thomas Edison on DVD at Amazon
A Brief Timeline of Edison's Life & Work
|
Incandescent Lightbulb
Incandescent Light Bulb entry at Wikipedia
Museum of Electric Lamp Technology [est. 2002]
 | "Evolution of The Electric Incandescent Lamp" [H. Cook 1889] by Frank L. Pope Read Books 8½x5¾ pb [4/2009] for $26.99 Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [2/2008] for $15.56 |
 | "Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light" [2010] by Jane Brox Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 8½x5½ hardcover [7/2010] for $15.00 |
Motion Pictures
Edison Manufacturing Co. [1889-1911] entry at Wikipedia
successor company Thomas A. Edison, Inc. [1911-57] entry at Wikipedia
credits at IMDb for Edison Manufacturing Company {2600+ films from 1890 to 1922}
 | "History of The Kinetograph, Kinetoscope, and Kinetophonograph" [1895] by W.K.L. Dickson and Antonia Dickson Museum of Modern Art 8¼x5½ facsimile pb [7/2002] for $30.00 Ayer 9½x6½ facsimile hardcover [6/79] out of print/used |
 | "Before The Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter & The Edison Manufacturing Company" [1991] by Charles Musser
Univ CA Press 9¼x6 pb [6/91] out of print/used Univ CA Press 9¾x6¾ hardcover [6/91] out of print/used |
 | "Landmarks of Early Film" Volume 1 [1994]
Image Ent b&w DVD [7/98] for $26.99 includes Edison Kinetoscope films (1894-96), films by the brothers Lumière (1895-97), films by French special effects pioneer Georges Méliès, documentary 'actualities' (1897-1910), and selected short films from 1903 to 1913 |
 | "Thomas A. Edison and His Kinetographic Motion Pictures" [1995] by Charles Musser Rutgers Univ Press 9½x9 pb [9/95] for $24.95 |
 | "Edison: The Invention of The Movies, 1891-1918" [2005] by Kino Video & M.O.M.A. Kino Video color/b&w DVD [2/2005] 4 disks for $61.06 full credits at IMDb |
  | "History of Motion Pictures: Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison" [2006]
A2ZCDs b&w DVD set [11/2006] 11 disks for $159.65 bundle contains individual sets or disks as below: "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 1: 1891-98" [2-disk set] 130+ stunning news snippets, war footage and vintage silent comedies A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] 2 disks for $19.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 2: 1899" [39 short films] A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] for $14.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 3: 1900" [2-disk set, 70 short films] A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] 2 disks for $19.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 4: 1901-02" [2-disk set, 60 films] A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] 2 disks for $19.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 5: 1903-04 [2-disk set, 50 short films] A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] 2 disks for $19.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 6: 1905-17" [19 short films] A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] for $14.95 "Early Films by Thomas Alva Edison, Volume 7: 1918-26" A2ZCDs b&w DVD [10/2005] for $14.95 |
 | "Hollywood's Copyright Wars: From Edison To The Internet" [2012] by Peter Decherney Kindle Edition from Columbia Univ Press [4/2012] for $16.99 Columbia Univ Press 9x6¼ hardcover [4/2012] for $34.50 |
Edison's "Monkeyshines" experimental clips [1889]
The first experiments making true motion pictures on film took place in 1889 at Edison's lab in New Jersey, under the supervision of inventor William K.L. Dickson. Edison told the actors to dance around and gesture wildly, and he called the results 'monkeyshines'. Two of these clips still exist; three are listed on IMDb •
watch "Monkeyshines" clips [1:10] at YouTube
bare info at IMDB: clip #1 • clip #2 • clip #3
watch short film "The Very First Motion Picture (1889)" by Kerry Decker [3:30] online at YouTube
Edison's "Dickson Greeting" experimental clip [1891]
Two years later, Edison's first public display of a motion picture showed employee Dickson moving his straw hat from his right to his left hand;
the 3-second clip is repeated for a full minute on the YouTube video • watch repetitive clip [11/2011 upload; 1:04] on YouTube
Edison's "The Dickson Experimental Sound Film" experimental clip [Aug 1894]
 | Film was not commercially released; it is the only surviving Kinetophone film with live-recorded sound; newly digitized & restored by Walter Murch in 2000 for the Library of Congress • Produced & directed by and starring William K.L. Dickson; assistant director Fred Ott; cinematography by William Heise
credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch restored 17-second clip [6/2016 upload] online at YouTube |
"The Ball Game" silent short [Edison Mfg. Co. May 1898]
future author Zane Grey [1872-1939] is pitcher for the Reading, Pennsylvania Coal Heavers baseball team versus the Newark Colts
video/DVD not available • full credits from IMDb
watch b&w silent clip [9/2007 upload; 0:28] online at YouTube
"A Trip Around The Pan-American Exposition" silent short [Edison Mfg. June 1901]
Filmed at the Expo in Buffalo, New York; chartered electric launch speeds along the Grand Canal circling the buildings and bridges representing Venice, Italy.
bare credits at IMDb •
watch movie online at YouTube: part 1 [4:00] +
part 2 [3:56 +
part 3 [3:38]
"The Twentieth Century Tramp: or, Happy Hooligan and His Airship" silent short [Edison Mfg. Co. Jan 1902]
Directed by Edwin S. Porter, starring J. Stuart Blackton •
bare credits at IMDb
watch short film with Russian-ish music [2/2016 upload; 1:40] online at YouTube
Edison's "Jack and The Beanstalk" silent short [Edison Mfg. Co. July 1902] /tt0000399/
watch [10:00] free online at Internet Archive
"The Great Train Robbery" silent short
[Edison Mfg. Co. Dec 1903]
 | The first movie with a plotted storyline was a Western! 11-minute silent short co-written & directed by Edwin S. Porter; starring Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson; listed in National Film Registry 1990 • credits from IMDb V.C.I. 100th Anniversary b&w DVD [12/2003] for $17.99 includes "Tumbleweeds" [1925 silent] with William S. Hart [1864-1946]; "The Battle of Elderbush Gulch" [1913 silent] by D.W. Griffith [1875-1948]; "The Heart of Texas Ryan" [1917 silent] with Tom Mix [1880-1940], plus extras watch full movie [10/2010 upload; 11:45] free online at Internet Archive |
"The Night Before Christmas" silent short film [Edison Mfg. Co. 1905]
partly-animated version of the classic Xmas poem • full credits at IMDb
watch complete short [1/2012 upload; 11:04] online at YouTube
Edison's "A Trip To Mars" silent short film [Edison Mfg. Co. Feb 1910]
 | A chemist discovers anti-gravity and sends himself flying to Mars, where he meets giants, then sends himself back to Earth 5-minute silent short directed by Ashley Miller • full credits at IMDb watch complete short [3/2011 upload; 5:06] online at YouTube |
Edison's "Frankenstein" silent one-reeler [March 1910]
  | Longtime much-wanted 'lost film', until an original nitrate print was discovered in Wisconsin in the 1970s. This very first cinema version of "Frankenstein" had the monster 'created' - in a vat, by burning a dummy and reversing the footage - instead of the later method of cobbling together body parts; the story also has a different ending {no spoilers here!} • Adapted & directed by J. Searle Dowley; starring Augustus Phillips, Mary Fuller, Charles Ogle
full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch [12:41] free online at Internet Archive |
"Treasure Island" 1-reel silent short [Edison Company May 1912]
Directed by J. Searle Dawley; starring Addison Rothermel, Ben F. Wilson, Charles Ogle, Mary Fuller, Laura Sawyer,
Richard Neill, James Gordon, Charles Sutton, William R. Randall • DVD/Blu-ray not available •
credits at IMDb
"Children Who Labor" [Edison/General Feb 1912]
13-minute short directed by Ashley Miller; written by Ethel Browning; starring Herbert Yost, Mary Fuller,
Edna May Weick; film is preserved at MoMA-NY •
full credits at IMDb
available on the "More Treasures From American Film Archives" DVD box set [2004]
watch movie [13:10] online at Internet Archive
"The Kinetophone Films" [Edison/General 1913]
In 1913, the Thomas Edison Company made 200 talking pictures using a sound-on-cylinder system called The Kinetophone; these pioneering sound movies were shown in theatres for about a year, and featured vaudeville acts, comedy sketches, dramatic scenes, and musical performances; only eight of the 200 Kinetophone films that were made survive in both film & cylinder elements, and these have now been digitally restored and synchronized by the Library of Congress, and are presented on this DVD for the first time in 105 years.
 | "The Kinetophone: A Fact! A Reality! - Talking Pictures From 1913!" [Edison Company 1913] Produced for DVD by Ben Model of Undercrank Prodns [est. 2013] 76-minute Undercrank Prodns b&w DVD [8/2018] for $19.98 eight original short films and two bonus short films: "The Edison Kinetophone" [3 minutes 1913] not on IMDb; "Musical Blacksmiths" [6 minutes 1913] not on IMDb; "Nursery favorites" [6 minutes May 1913] directed by Allen Ramsey, starring Edna Flugrath, Robert Lett, Shirley Mason/Leonie Flugrath, Robert Milasch - credits at IMDb; "The Deaf Mute" [6 minutes 1913] not on IMDb; "The Edison Min-strels" [6 minutes 1913] starring George Ballard, Edward Boulden, Arthur Housman, Eugene Jardas, O.J. McCormack, Leo Parmet, H.L. Wilson - credits at IMDb; "The Five Bachelors" [6 minutes 1913] not on IMDb; "The Old Guard" [6 minutes May 1913] written & directed by and starring James Young, also starring Charles Kent, Clara Kimball Young, Tefft Johnson, Mr. Behn {as Napoleon} - credits at IMDb; "Jack's Joke" [6 minutes 1913] starring Edward Boulden, Nellie Grant, Arthur Housman, Alice Washburn, Cora Williams - credits at IMDb; bonus film "So Amazingly Perfect They Are Really Weird" [25 minutes 2018] documentary short on history of the the Kinetophone films, technology, and restoration - not on IMDb; and bonus film "The Politician" [6 minutes Edison/Majestic June 1913] a Kinetophone film whose sound cylinder is still lost and is presented here with a musical score by Ben Model, starring Anne Drew & Lamar Johnstone - credits at IMDb |
"The Patchwork Girl of Oz" [1914] /title/tt0004457/
http://www.amazon.com/Edisons-Fort-Myers-Discoveries-Heart/dp/1561643122/
http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Menlo-Park-Thomas-Invented/dp/1400047633/
http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Talkies-Edison-Jolson/dp/0253107431/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401146/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455453/
Direct Current Electricity
'War of The Currents' entry at Wikipedia
Nikola Tesla [1856-1943] Pages at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Spirit of America Bookstore's George Westinghouse, Jr. [1846-1914] Page
Spirit of America Bookstore's 'AC-DC War of The Currents' Page
The Phonograph
Phonograph {Gramophone, Record Player} entry at Wikipedia
Edison's National Phonograph Company was incorporated in January 1896 and merged into Thomas A. Edison, Inc. in 1911.
successor company Thomas A. Edison, Inc. [1911-57] entry at Wikipedia
 | "About A Hundred Years: A History of Sound Recording" audio CD [1997] Symposium audio CD [12/97] 38 tracks for $19.98 The 38 historical sound recordings on this CD include Thomas Edison's recital of 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' [1877], plus recordings of Sarah Bernhardt, Enrico Caruso, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mohandas K. Gandhi, W.C. Handy, ragtime composer Scott Joplin, Vladimir Ilich Lenin, Paul Robeson, John Philip Sousa, and Leo Tolstoy |
Stageplays, Movies & TV, Other Media
search for Thomas Edison
on DVD at Amazon
· ·
"A Day With Thomas A. Edison" silent short [1922] /tt0335032/
"Servant of Mankind" 9-minute biopic [1940] /tt0168161/
"Young Tom Edison" [1940] /tt0033289/ starring Mickey Rooney
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Tom-Edison-Mickey-Rooney/dp/B002EAYEGU/
"Edison, The Man" [M.G.M. May 1940]
 | The 82-year-old inventor recalls in flashback his life, from his invention at 22 of a stock market ticker Directed by Clarence Brown; starring Spencer Tracy, Rita Johnson, Lynne Overman, Charles Coburn, Gene Lockhart & Henry Travers; Oscar nomination for Best Original Story Warner Bros. b&w DVD [6/2009] for $26.99 M.G.M./Warner Bros. b&w VHS [9/98] out of prodn/used 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $14.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Dead At The Box Office" [1990] by John Dandola M.G.M. decides to reap free publicity by premiering the 1940 Spencer Tracy movie "Edison, The Man" in Thomas Edison's hometown of West Orange, New Jersey. Studio publicity girl Edie Koslow is already juggling the press, the personalities of the stars, and interference by the locals when several murders the week before the premiere threaten the festivities and her job – and her life. Quincannon Publng Group pb [5/2001] out of print/used Quincannon Publng Group 7¾x5¼ pb [5/93] out of print/used book available at author's website previously published as "West of Orange" [1990] Tory Corner Editions mass pb [1990] out of print/used |
"Edison's Miracle of Light" [10/1954] /tt0812971/ live episode of "You Are There" TV series
"The Man Called Edison" docu [1970]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vQtpcQtRbs [26:12]
"Edison's Miracle of Light" [10/1995] /tt0760518/ episode of The American Experience
P.B.S. Thomas Alva Edison bio
"Biography: Thomas Edison - Father of Invention" [History Channel 8/1996] /tt0401146/
http://www.amazon.com/Biography-Thomas-Edison-Father-Invention/dp/B000H0M3VW/
"Edison Tech" DVD [History Channel 2005] /tt1061519/
http://www.amazon.com/History-Modern-Marvels-Edison-Tech/dp/B001CU99VI/
"Edison vs Tesla" [National Geographic Channel June 2015]
Episode #8 of the "American Genius" TV mini-series
 | Full biography of Nikola Tesla [1856-1943] with emphasis on the 20-year battle with unscrupulous Thomas Edison [1847-1931] over dominance of the AC versus DC electricity technologies. • Directed by Paul Abascal; written by Chelsea Coates, Jordan Rosenblum & David Schaye; narrated by Jeff Wilburn; starring Eric Rolland {as Edison}, Anthony Misiano {as Tesla}, Gary Ayash, Radford Baker, Vaughn Bullard, Mark Collmer, Jake Crocker, Lawrence Derx, Vince Eisenson, Jonathan Hardison, Jamie Hodge, Benjamin Loeh, Peter Muggleworth, Michael Paradise, Russ Randall, Chaz Riddle, Andy Rivera, Matthew Sims, Chuck Taber, Gus Zucco, George Kardulias; featuring interviews with W. Bernard Carlson, Paul Israel PhD, Dr. Michio Kaku, and Tom McNichol
episode credits at IMDb • series credits at IMDb watch full episode [8/2015 upload; 47:52] online at YouTube Fox widescreen color DVD [10/2015] 2 disks - SOLD OUT ! Amazon Instant Video [2015] HD episode purchase $1.99 each, HD season purchase $11.99 {saves $3.93} |
"The Current War" [The Weinstein Company Oct 2019]
 | Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable power system and market it to the American people • Announced 5/2012: Producer-director Timur Bekmambetov and his Bazelevs production company bought Michael Mitnick’s spec script, which was listed on the screenplay Black List; the story follows the real-life public clash between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse about the future of the new electric power industry; added 11/2016: actor Tom Holland signed on to portray Samuel Insull • Co-produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, and others; directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon; co-produced & written by Michael Mitnick; starring Benedict Cumber-batch {as Edison}, Nicholas Hoult {as Nikola Tesla}, Michael Shannon {as Westinghouse}, Tom Holland, Katherine Waterston, Tuppence Middleton, John Schwab, Matthew Macfadyen {as J.P. Morgan}, Damien Molony, Tom Bell, Tom Sweet, Conor MacNeill, Iain McKee, Jason Matthewson, Celyn Jones, Woody Norman, Faye Ormston, Phil Hodges, Ekow Quartey, Adam Lazarus, Simon Connolly, Joseph Balderrama, Steven I. Dillard
Universal Pictures Home Ent. widecreen color Blu-ray/DVD combo [3/2020] 2 disks for $22.99 Universal Pictures Home Ent. widescreen color Blu-ray [3/2020] for $39.30 Universal Pictures Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [3/2020] for $14.96 full credits at IMDb • watch 9/2017 official trailer [2:33] at YouTube |
± ±
 | "Voices of History, Volume 2: Arts, Science & Exploration" [2006]
British Library Sound Archive audio CD [1/2006] 2 disks for $41.49 38 tracks mostly from very early in the XXth Century on 2 disks, including the voices of P.T. Barnum, Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Alva Edison (speech "Electricity and Progress"), Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Charles Lindbergh, Guglielmo Marconi, Robert Edwin Peary, Alice Ellen Terry & Leo Tolstoy |
Works About Thomas Alva Edison
search for Thomas Edison books {returns 400+ titles} at Amazon
search for Thomas Edison
on DVD at Amazon
 | "The Life and Inventions of Thomas Alva Edision" [1894] by William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson, Edison's chief assistant Nabu Press 9¾x7½ facsimile pb [3/2010] for $25.65 |
"An Authentic Life of Edison: The Life and Inventions of Thomas Alva Edison" in 8 volumes [Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1894]
by William K.L. Dickson & Antonia Dickson
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Inventions-Thomas-Alva-Edison/dp/B000OY8BTO/
 | "Always Inventing: The True Story of Thomas Alva Edison" [grades 1-2; 1948] by Frank Murphy, Illustrated by Dan Brown Cartwheel Books/Scholastic pb [12/48] for $53.98 {sic} Cartwheel Books/Scholastic pb [1949] out of print/40+ used |
"Thomas Alva Edison: King of The Inventors" [3/1997] by David C. King
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Inventors-Scientists/dp/1878668552/ sold out
http://www.amazon.com/Edison-His-Life-Inventions-ebook/dp/B002BDUBRQ/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Life-Invention-Paul-Israel/dp/0471362700/
http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Photobiography-Thomas-Photobiographies/dp/0792259343/
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Inventions-Thomas-Alva-Edison/dp/110431343X/ orig 1894
http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Book-Thomas-Edison-Biography/dp/0823414140/
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Thomas-Alva-Edison-Inventor/dp/1439526923/ [2008]
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Thomas-Edison-Landmark-Books/dp/0613025849/
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Thomas-Edison-Landmark-Books/dp/1442006501/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Thomas-Edison-Scholastic-Biography/dp/0590424033/
http://www.amazon.com/Story-Thomas-Edison-Signature-books/dp/B0006AT63G/
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Francis-Rolt-Wheeler/dp/1103696769/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Inventor-Biographies/dp/0893758426/
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Inventor-Entrepreneur/dp/0531122751/
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Portraits-12-Adult/dp/0613854500/
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Alva-Edison-Wizard-Menlo/dp/B001NMSH3G/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Biography-Jan-Adkins/dp/0756652073/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Connection-Images-America/dp/0738513695
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Francis-Arthur-Jones/dp/0217902839/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Groundbreakers-Brian-Williams/dp/1439546673/ [2008]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Inventor-Inventors-Scientists/dp/0531222098/ [2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Edison-Orange-Images-America/dp/0738557218/ [2008]
http://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Thomas-Alva-Edison/dp/1424221455/ [2008]
http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Menlo-Park-Thomas-Invented/dp/1400047633/ [2008]
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Thomas-Edison-Sterling-North/dp/0142412104/ [2009]
"Fort Myers [Florida] (Images of America)" [2/2001] by Gregg M Turner & Stan Mulford
http://www.amazon.com/Fort-Myers-Gregg-M-Turner/dp/1531604242/
"Edison [NJ] (Images of America)" [4/2001] by Stacey Spies
Raritan Township, New Jersey was renamed Edison in 1954
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738505498
"Inventing The Future: A Photobiography of Thomas Alva Edison" [9/2006] by Marfé Ferguson Delano
http://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Photobiography-Thomas-Photobiographies/dp/0792259343
"Edison and Ford In Florida (Images of America)" [9/2015] by Mike Cosden, Brent Newman & Chris Starostecki
http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Ford-Florida-Images-America/dp/1467114642/
 | "Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives" [age 6 & up; 2012] Written & illustrated by Gene Barretta Kindle Edition from Henry Holt/Macmillan [1/2012] for $9.99 Henry Holt & Co. BYR 10¼x9½ hardcover [7/2012] for $11.55 |
 | "Edison" biography [2019]  by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edmund Morris Kindle Edition from Random House [10/2019] for $14.99 Random House 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2019] for $34.20 |
Books by Thomas Edison
"The 1930 American Scrapbook" [hardcover 1930]
by Thomas Alva Edison, illustrated with photos
"The Diary and Observations of Thomas Alva Edison" [1948, pb 1976]
edited by Dagobert D. Runes, illustrated with photos
"Phonographs and Gramophones" [pb 1977] by Thomas Alva Edison
"The Edison & Ford Quote Book" [hardcover 2003] by Thomas Alva Edison
Family & Friends
Thomas Alva Edison was born in February 1847 in Milan, Ohio; he lived & worked at Menlo Park, New Jersey from early 1876 until early 1881;
in 1886, he built a gigantic laboratory and then a motion picture studio (1893) in West Orange, New Jersey and died there in October 1931 at age 84.
first wife Mary Stilwell Edison [1855-84] - married 1871, died 1884
daughter Marion Estelle 'Dot' Edison Oeser [1872-1965] - married 1895, widowed 1921
son-in-law Karl Oscar Oeser [1864-1921]
son Thomas Alva 'Dash' Edison Jr. [1876-1935]
daughter-in-law actress Marie Louise Toohey Edison [1880-1906] - married in secret in 1899, divorced within a year
daughter-in-law Beatrice Heyzer Montaigne Edison [1887-1950] - widowed, re-married 1906, widowed 1935
son farmer William Leslie Edison [1878-1937] - married 1899
daughter-in-law Blanche Fowler Travers Edison [1877-1946] - married 1899, widowed 1937
second wife Mina Miller Edison Hughes [1865-1947] - married 1886, widowed 1935, re-married 1935-40
daughter Madeleine 'Toots' Edison Sloane [1888-1979] - married 1914, widowed 1970
son-in-law John Eyre Sloane [1885-1970]
grandson Thomas Edison Sloane [1916-90]
grandson John Edison Sloane [1918-90]
grandson Peter Edison Sloane [1923-2010]
grandson Michael Edison Sloane [1931-49]
son Charles Edison [1890-1969]
daughter-in-law Carolyn Hawkins Edison [1883-1963] - married 1918, died 1963
son Theodore Miller 'Ted' Edison [1898-1992]
daughter-in-law Anna Maria (Ann) Osterhout Edison [1901-93] - married 1925, widowed 1992
William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson [1860-1935], Edison's chief assistant
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kennedy_Dickson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_William_Kennedy_Dickson_films
L i n k s
Thomas Edison entry at Wikipedia
Thomas Edison credits [1895-1922] at Internet Movie Database
Library of Congress Thomas Edison webpages
Inventing Entertainment: The Edison Companies
list of Edison's 1,093 patents
listed #9 on The Atlantic Monthly's Top 100 Most Influential Figures in American History [Dec 2006]
Edison National Historic Site in West Orange, New Jersey
Thomas Alva Edison in Menlo Park website
Edison Festival of Light [Feb 2009 = #71] in Fort Myers, Florida
Edison Memorial Tower [built 1938] & Menlo Park Museum in Edison, New Jersey
Edison Museum in Beaumont, Texas
'Edison Muckers' fansite of the Edison Innovation Foundation
search for Thomas Edison books {returns 400+ titles} at Amazon
search for Thomas Edison
on DVD at Amazon
here on the Thomas Alva Edison [1847-1931] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • timeline • direct current • incandescent lightbulb • motion pictures • the phonograph •
plays, movies, other media • works about Thomas Edison • books by Thomas Edison • family & friends • links
Spirit of America Bookstore's Inventors of America Pages
« «
Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.
Online sales in association with 
top of this page • back to Spirit of America Bookstore homepage