History UsefulNotes / ThomasEdison

* Music/TheBeeGees' song "Edison" is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin about him]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/SchoolhouseRock'' song "Mother Necessity," about the great inventions of American history, features him inventing a light bulb to help his mother, who had poor eyesight.
* On ''Series/NewsRadio'', Joe insists on making his own components for every device he fixes rather than buy "any of that mass-produced garbage." When an impatient Bill asks Joe to just give up and buy the piece in question, Joe answers, "Did Thomas Edison give up?" [[AnalogyBackfire Bill points out that "Thomas Edison wasn't trying to invent something that was readily available in a variety of stores near his home."]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer becomes obsessed with Edison and tries to invent something to become famous just like he was. When Homey finally makes something useful, [[spoiler: it turns out that Edison already made it.]] Made even better when it's later disovered that [[spoiler: Edison '''stole it from LeonardoDaVinci''']].
* In the short-lived show ''The Secret Adventures Of Jules Verne'', the protagonists meet a young American boy named Al, deaf in one ear, who makes amazing inventions and is able to reverse-engineer a hovering machine from the future (or the past; not sure about this one). When leaving, he reveals that Al is a shortened form of his middle name - Alva. Yep, that's Thomas Alva Edison.
* The graphic novel ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheBullyPulpit'' features his ghost and UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt stealing a time machine from Creator/HGWells and [[CrazyAwesome going to the future to fight a descendant of]] UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler [[CrazyAwesome and his army of evil martians.]]
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' stars a robot invented by Nikola Tesla, so naturally Edison is one of the series' {{Big Bad}}s. Here he's presented as doing highly immoral things in a quest for immortality; and the War of the Currents was a fight to stop one such scheme. [[spoiler:He dies in a climactic battle with Tesla in 1931, but somehow re-forms as a ghost in 1999.]]
* One of the more bizarre depictions of him is the webcomic Webcomic/EdisonHateFuture, which features him listening to primitive headphones and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin complaining about the future]].

* On ''TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'', Jimmy brings Edison to the present to show up Cindy, then has trouble sending him back when he falls in love with his teacher.
* According to ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Edison was an agent of the Knights Templar]], and his feud with the Assassin-affiliated Nikola Tesla was one of the great Templar-Assassin battles of the early 20th century.
* He is portrayed in a very unflattering light in ''Webcomic/TheOatmeal'''s [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla "Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived"]], mainly because of his feuds with rival Nikola Tesla. ''Webcomic/TheOatmeal'' also sells a variety of [[http://shop.theoatmeal.com/collections/tesla Tesla > Edison merchandise]] in its store.
* Speaking of which, in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', he again makes an appearance alongside Nikola Tesla and he's depicted extremely unsympathetically, as an outright {{Jerkass}} in fact.
* Edison makes an appearance in ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' as a rival to fellow inventor James Pendrick. He's shown to be so ruthless as to be suspected of trying to kill Pendrick for his revolutionary sound equipment. [[spoiler: He's not the murderer, though after Pendrick rejects his offer to collaborate, he does vow to freeze him out of any success in the moving picture industry in America at the end of the episode.]]
* Edison is one of the main characters, along with Henry Ford and President UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding, in ''Camping with Henry and Tom'', a 1995 play written by Mark St. Germain. These men were in fact friends in real life and the play is based on real life road trips that these men actually took, along with another of their inventor-businessman friends, Harvey Firestone.

* Edison is the BigBad of the role-playing game ''TabletopGame/PunkRockSavesTheWorld''. His goal is to be credited as "the greatest inventor of his time", even if he has to take credit for other people's inventions, such as the TimeMachine that spurs the plot (and was actually created by Tesla).
* MadScientist The Inventor, one of the major villains in ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'', was intended to be a clone of Edison. However, the clone's DNA got scrambled with that of a cockatiel, so he wound up as a HalfHumanHybrid[=/=]MixAndMatchMan.
* In ''[[VideoGame/WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego Carmen Sandiego's Great Chase Through Time]]'', the titular villain has V.I.L.E. henchman Dee Cryption steal Edison's first light bulb, and he doesn't have any cotton left to make a new one before investors arrive the next morning. [[PlayerCharacter An ACME agent]] and Ivan Idea help him get a new spool of cotton thread.
* Mentioned, but not outright depicted in ''VideoGame/TheOrder1886''. UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, TheEngineer of the eponymous order, [[HistoricalInJoke still isn't a fan]].

* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' stars a robot invented by Nikola Tesla, so naturally Edison is one of the series' {{Big Bad}}s. Here he's presented as doing highly immoral things in a quest for immortality; and the War of the Currents was a fight to stop one such scheme. [[spoiler:He dies in a climactic battle with Tesla, but somehow re-forms as a ghost in the 1990s.]]

* The comic book series ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'' features him as the BigBad. The series is about a robot invented by his rival Nikola Tesla, so it only makes sense.

One of the unfortunate side effects of this was pushing out UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla's alternating current in favor of Edison's own direct current, despite AC being superior in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and long-range transmission. Edison tried to get AC banned, even going so far as inventing the electric chair [[EpicFail (which set its first victim on fire)]], spreading false information, and [[CruellaToAnimals electrocuting an elephant]] and [[NightmareFuel making a movie out it]]. However, there are some factors everybody is forgetting. It is possible that Edison honestly believed Tesla's AC was a dangerous as he claimed it was, and many people who mention the incident with the elephant confidently leave out that the elephant was going to be put down no matter what Edison did.

* He is portrayed in a very unflattering light in ''Webcomic/TheOatmeal'''s [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla "Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived"]], mainly because of his feuds with rival Nikola Tesla. ''TheOatmeal'' also sells a variety of [[http://shop.theoatmeal.com/collections/tesla Tesla > Edison merchandise]] in its store.

* He is portrayed in a very unflattering light in ''TheOatmeal'''s [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla "Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived"]], mainly because of his feuds with rival Nikola Tesla. ''TheOatmeal'' also sells a variety of [[http://shop.theoatmeal.com/collections/tesla Tesla > Edison merchandise]] in its store.

* The graphic novel ''TalesFromTheBullyPulpit'' features his ghost and TheodoreRoosevelt stealing a time machine from Creator/HGWells and [[CrazyAwesome going to the future to fight a descendant of]] UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler [[CrazyAwesome and his army of evil martians.]]

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* The comic book series AtomicRobo features him as the BigBad. The series is about a robot invented by his rival Nikola Tesla, so it only makes sense.

!!Tropes related to Thomas Edison


* BookDumb: Had only three months of formal education, and often worked til he achieved something.
* TheDeterminator: Oh, how much!
* {{Foil}}: Edison and Tesla weren't just divided by current, but by the way they operated. Tesla was college educated, could imagine entire processes in his mind, and was motivated by scientific discovery. Edison has almost no formal schooling, did things by trial and error, and was a shrewd businessman.
* GladIThoughtOfIt: Notorious for stealing the credit for things his employees did.
** Similarly, Edison once tried to sue an Englishman named Joseph Swan on patent infringement of his incandescent light bulb designs. The problem? Swan had invented and patented the designs before Edison, and the latter had been working off Swan's designs instead of the other way around. When this came out, Edison quickly backed down and instead made Swan a partner in his company.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Henry Ford

* JerkAss: Thomas Edison could sometimes be one.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Thomas Edison had many redeeming qualities, one of which was his refusal to make weapons. To this day, the closest GE gets to the arms industry is producing engines, engine parts, and avionics for military aircraft. He also got into the telegraph business because he saved a child's life.
* RagsToRiches: Thomas Edison was not born in prosperous settings.
* ShootTheDog: Thomas Edison killed an elephant named Topsy using electricity. However, many people forget that Topsy trampled one of his handlers to death and would have been put to sleep anyway. If not for Edison, Topsy might have been hung like Mary (a different elephant who also trampled a handler to death). The electrocution death was a stunt to show how it is arguably more humane to provide a quick, painless death.
* ValuesResonance: He actually designed [[OlderThanTheyThink an electric car]], and in a radio interview with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, predicted the future of energy:
--> '''Edison''': “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left.”

!!Depictions in popular media

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade & HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Thomas Edison is either portrayed as a quirky underdog genius who had to fight to get his honest hard work recognised, or as a concept-stealing CorruptCorporateExecutive who swept away opposition with threats and slander. There's plenty of evidence [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment for and against both portrayals]], but the market for energy and electricity was absolutely feral back then.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Tesla supporters love to paint Edison as a CorruptCorporateExecutive. There's plenty of evidence [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment for and against this]], but Tesla wasn't exactly the easiest person to work with.

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!!Tropes related to Thomas Edison


* BookDumb: Had only three months of formal education, and often worked til he achieved something.
* TheDeterminator: Oh, how much!
* GladIThoughtOfIt: Notorious for stealing the credit for things his employees did.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Henry Ford
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Tesla supporters love to paint Edison as a CorruptCorporateExecutive. There's plenty of evidence [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment for and against this]], but Tesla wasn't exactly the easiest person to work with.
* JerkAss: Thomas Edison could sometimes be one.
** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Thomas Edison had many redeeming qualities, one of which was his refusal to make weapons. To this day, the closest GE gets to the arms industry is producing engines, engine parts, and avionics for military aircraft. He also got into the telegraph business because he saved a child's life.
* RagsToRiches: Thomas Edison was not born in prosperous settings.
* ShootTheDog: Thomas Edison killed an elephant named Topsy using electricity. However, many people forget that Topsy trampled one of his handlers to death and would have been put to sleep anyway. If not for Edison, Topsy might have been hung like Mary (a different elephant who also trampled a handler to death). The electrocution death was a stunt to show how it is arguably more humane to provide a quick, painless death.
* ValuesResonance: He actually designed [[OlderThanTheyThink an electric car]], and in a radio interview with Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, predicted the future of energy:
--> '''Edison''': “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left.”
----

* Edison is one of the main characters, along with Henry Ford and President Warren Harding, in ''Camping with Henry and Tom'', a 1995 play written by Mark St. Germain. These men were in fact friends in real life and the play is based on real life road trips that these men actually took, along with another of their inventor-businessman friends, Harvey Firestone.

He was known to be quite a JerkAss. For example, Nikola Tesla (his employee at the time) said that Edison offered fifty-thousand US dollars to improve his DC generators, but when Tesla accepted the offer, Edison said that it was just a joke. (Whether this story is true or not, though, has been disputed.)

* RagsToRiches: Thomas Edison was not born in prosperous settings.

* BookDumb: But very much practise smart. He simply never gave up until he got something working.

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Thomas Edison had many redeeming qualities, one of which was his refusal to make weapons. To this day, the closest GE gets to the arms industry is producing engines, engine parts, and avionics for military aircraft.

He was also very important as a businessman. In 1892 he merged the aforementioned various corporations he had founded into one company: the General Electric Corporation. Yes, ''that'' General Electric Corporation. ([[Series/ThirtyRock That one, too]]). He used several extravagant public demonstrations to bring attention to his inventions, such as lighting up entire city streets using his light bulbs. He aggressively used his media attention and his powerful connections to make his company the nation's chief electric powerhouse. One of the unfortunate side effects of this was pushing out NikolaTesla's alternating current in favor of Edison's own direct current, despite AC being superior in terms of efficiency, flexibility, and long-range transmission. Edison tried to get AC banned, even going so far as inventing the electric chair [[EpicFail (which set its first victim on fire)]], spreading false information, and [[CruellaToAnimals electrocuting an elephant]] and [[NightmareFuel making a movie out it]]. However, there are some factors everybody is forgetting. It is possible that Edison honestly believed Tesla's AC was a dangerous as he claimed it was, and many people who mention the incident with the elephant confidently leave out that the elephant was going to be put down no matter what Edison did.

He was known to be quite a JerkAss. For example, NikolaTesla (his employee at the time) said that Edison offered fifty-thousand US dollars to improve his DC generators, but when Tesla accepted the offer, Edison said that it was just a joke. (Whether this story is true or not, though, has been disputed.)

* The comic book series AtomicRobo features him as the BigBad. The series is about a robot invented by his rival NikolaTesla, so it only makes sense.

* According to ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Edison was an agent of the Knights Templar]], and his feud with the Assassin-affiliated NikolaTesla was one of the great Templar-Assassin battles of the early 20th century.
* He is portrayed in a very unflattering light in ''TheOatmeal'''s [[http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla "Why Nikola Tesla was the greatest geek who ever lived"]], mainly because of his feuds with rival NikolaTesla. ''TheOatmeal'' also sells a variety of [[http://shop.theoatmeal.com/collections/tesla Tesla > Edison merchandise]] in its store.

** JerkWithAHeartofGold: Thomas Edison had many redeeming qualities, one of which was his refusal to make weapons. To this day, the closest GE gets to the arms industry is producing engines, engine parts, and avionics for military aircraft.

In 1876, Edison found a likely spot of land near Menlo Park in Raritan Township in Middlesex County, about 20 miles southwest of Newark. Here he built his new invention: an industrial research lab. It was responsible for world-changing inventions within just a year. Some of the most important inventions to come out of Edison's lab include the phonograph, a practical light bulb, storage batteries, transmitters, motion picture cameras, and microphones. Needless to say, the research conducted by Edison and his assistants were groundbreaking and forever changed the world. The proud Edison would often take credit for inventions largely completed by his workers, leading many people throughout history to claim that he stole them, which may be true. He is today, however, known to have stolen at least a few designs from other inventors.[[note]] Englishman Joseph Swan, for example, actually beat him to the lightbulb.[[/note]] For what it's worth, often Edison was only taking previous inventions and making them practical; this includes his famous lightbulb. Also, he eventually hit upon the idea of crediting the patents to the various corporations he established to manufacture and market his inventions,[[note]]An unexpected advantage of his living in New Jersey; New Jersey had the country's first modern general business corporations law, allowing you to easily establish a corporation for running a business without too many strings attached.[[/note]] rather than to himself or to his researchers; this meant that nobody could accuse him of stealing credit for the products of his lab, as technically ''he'' didn't claim to be the inventor.

* ShootTheDog: Thomas Edison killed an elephant named Topsy using electricity. However, many people forget that Topsy trampled one of his handlers to death and would have been put to sleep anyway. If not for Edison, Topsy might have been hung like Mary (a different elephant who also trampled a handler to death).

** JerkWithAHeartofGold: Thomas Edison had many redeeming qualities, one of which was his refusal to make weapons.

* The graphic novel ''TalesFromTheBullyPulpit'' features his ghost and TheodoreRoosevelt stealing a time machine from HGWells and [[CrazyAwesome going to the future to fight a descendant of]] UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler [[CrazyAwesome and his army of evil martians.]]

* The graphic novel ''TalesFromTheBullyPulpit'' features his ghost and TheodoreRoosevelt stealing a time machine from HGWells and [[CrazyAwesome going to the future to fight a descendant of]] AdolfHitler [[CrazyAwesome and his army of evil martians.]]

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Tesla Supporters love to paint Edison as a CorruptCorporateExecutive, despite the fact that this is not true. The rivalry between Tesla and Edison was GreyandGrayMorality more than anything else.

* Edison is one of the main characters, along with Henry Ford and President Warren Harding, in ''Camping with Henry and Tom'', a 1995 play written by Mark St. Germain. These men were in fact friends in real life and the play is based on real life road trips that these men actually took, along with another of their inventor-businessman friends, Harvey Firestone.