emirates7 - Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was a pioneering American inventor and businessman. He made significant contributions to electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. His notable inventions include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, all of which have profoundly influenced the modern industrialized world.

Edison was one of the first inventors to apply organized science and teamwork to invention, working with numerous researchers and establishing the first industrial research laboratory. Raised in the American Midwest, he began his career as a telegraph operator, which influenced some of his early inventions.

In 1876, he founded his first laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his initial inventions were created. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, with Henry Ford and Harvey S. Firestone, and a laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, which housed the world's first film studio, the Black Maria. With a total of 1,093 patents in the U.S. and additional patents internationally, Edison is considered the most prolific inventor in American history.

Edison was married twice and had six children. He passed away in 1931 due to complications from diabetes.