Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman known for his work on the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, electric power distribution and early motion pictures. The merger of the Edison General Electric Company and the competitor Thomson-Houston Electric Company resulted in the formation of General Electric. Edison registered 1,093 patents in the United States. February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931; died at 84. Alive at the same time as Adolf Hitler, Karl Marx, Leo Tolstoy, Vincent van Gogh, and John Paul II. Wiki link