Thomas A. Edison
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.
Edison: The Invention of the Movies
(Himself (archive footage))
The Film That Was Lost
(Self (archive footage))
Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory
A Day with Thomas A. Edison
(Self)
Meeting of the Motion Pictures Patents Company
(Himself)
The Golden Twenties
(Self (archive footage))
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
(Self (voice) (archive footage))
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
(Self (archive footage))
Murnau, Borzage and Fox
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Edison
(Himself (archive footage))
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
(Self (archive footage))
Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter
(Himself (archive footage) (uncredited))
Okay for Sound
The Extraordinary Voyage
(Self - Filmmaker (archive footage))
The Shadow of Hate: A History of Intolerance in America
(Self (archive footage))
The Crash of 1929
(Self (archive footage))
Naqoyqatsi
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Guests at the Presentation of Kodacolor at the Home of Mr. George Eastman, Rochester, N.Y.
History 101
(Self (archive footage))
Horizon
(Self)
Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma
(Self (archive footage))
Meeting of the Motion Pictures Patents Company
(Producer)
Electrocuting an Elephant
(Producer)
Parsifal
(Producer)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
(Producer)
The Edison Kinetophone
(Producer)
The Musical Blacksmiths
(Producer)
Jack's Joke
(Producer)
Frankenstein
(Producer)
A Jewish Dance at Jerusalem
(Producer)
Admiral Cigarette
(Producer)
Canoeing on the Charles River, Boston, Mass.
(Producer)
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
(Producer)
General Lee's Procession, Havana
(Producer)
New York Police Parade, June 1st, 1899
(Producer)
Cutting and Canaling Ice
(Executive Producer)
Skyscrapers of New York City, from the North River
(Producer)
Blacksmithing Scene
(Producer)
Annie Oakley
(Producer)
Sioux Ghost Dance
(Producer)
Imperial Japanese Dance
(Producer)
Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph
(Producer)
Indian War Council
(Producer)
Fatima's Coochee-Coochee Dance
(Producer)
East Side Drive, No. 1
(Executive Producer)
Starting for the Fire
(Producer)
American Falls from Above, American Side
(Executive Producer)
American Falls, from Incline R.R.
(Producer)
Cock Fight
(Producer)
Serpentine Dance - Annabelle
(Producer)
Capsize of Lifeboat
(Producer)
Launch of Life Boat
(Producer)
Rescue - Resuscitation
(Producer)
Launch of Surf Boat
(Producer)
The Passion Play of Oberammergau
(Producer)
Alciede Capitane
(Producer)
Pan-American Exposition by Night
(Producer)
Inter-Collegiate Athletic Association Championships
(Producer)
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
(Producer)
Lucia di Lammermoor
(Producer)
Julius Caesar
(Producer)
A Minstrel Show
(Producer)
The Old Guard
(Producer)
The Politician
(Producer)
Nursery Favorites
(Producer)
Her Redemption
(Producer)
The Irish Policeman
(Producer)
The Deaf Mute
(Producer)
The Five Bachelors
(Producer)
Votes for Women
(Producer)
Andrew Carnegie
(Producer)
The Birth of the Telephone
(Producer)
The Old Violin
(Producer)
Parade of Marines, U.S. Cruiser, 'Brooklyn'
(Producer)
2nd Special Service Battalion, Canadian Infantry, Parade and Embarkation
(Producer)
President McKinley Taking the Oath
(Producer)
Bicycle Trick Riding, No. 2
(Producer)
The Trick Cyclist
(Producer)
Arrival of the Governor General, Lord Minto, at Quebec
(Producer)
Skiing Scene in Quebec
(Producer)
Chicago-Michigan Football Game
(Producer)
Early Edison Camera Tests
(Producer)
Censorship and Its Absurdities
(Producer)
The Comet
(Director)