{"id":"thomas-edison","type":"person","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-edison","language":"en","name":"Thomas Edison","name_en":"Thomas Edison","name_ne":"थोमस एल्वा एडिसन","description":"American inventor and businessman (1847–1931)","headline":"American inventor and businessman (1847–1931)","also_known_as":[],"summary":"Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) 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.","summary_more":["Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, but grew up in Michigan with little formal schooling. He became deaf as a child and learned through books and tinkering. Edison began working at a young age; as a railroad telegrapher, he spent much of his time inventing improvements to telegraph systems. By the age of 22, he had sold a few of his early inventions and moved to New York City to focus on engineering. He had three children with his first wife, Mary, but Edison was neglectful. She died at 29 years old. Edison had troubled relationships with his children for the rest of his life. With the help of friends, the inventor attracted investment and grew his company. By the age of 29, he owned a telegraph recorder factory in Newark with over one hundred employees.","Edison expanded, developing Menlo Park, now considered the first industrial research laboratory. Edison, known as \"The Wizard of Menlo Park\", drove his staff extremely hard and constantly worked himself and his associates to exhaustion. The inventor also drove up investment and publicity. He rose to international fame with the invention of the phonograph which took many years to turn into a commercial success. He later built a larger research lab in West Orange, New Jersey.","In 1878, Edison began working on an electrical lighting system which he hoped would replace the common gas lamp. Going from electrical light bulb to the modern electric grid took decades of invention, investment, and influence.…"],"facts":[{"key":"born","label":"Born","values":[{"text":"11 February 1847","date":"1847-02-11"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P569"}},{"key":"birthplace","label":"Place of birth","values":[{"text":"Milan","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1645063"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P19"}},{"key":"died","label":"Died","values":[{"text":"18 October 1931","date":"1931-10-18"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P570"}},{"key":"deathplace","label":"Place of death","values":[{"text":"West Orange","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q932601"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P20"}},{"key":"citizenship","label":"Citizenship","values":[{"text":"United States","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q30"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P27"}},{"key":"occupation","label":"Occupation","values":[{"text":"engineer","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81096"},{"text":"inventor","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q205375"},{"text":"entrepreneur","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131524"},{"text":"physicist","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q169470"},{"text":"mathematician","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170790"},{"text":"screenwriter","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28389"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P106"}},{"key":"education","label":"Education","values":[{"text":"Cooper Union","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130981","start":"1875","end":"1879"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P69"}},{"key":"spouse","label":"Spouse","values":[{"text":"Mary Stilwell Edison","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22087332","start":"1871","end":"1884-08-09"},{"text":"Mina Miller","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22087338","start":"1886","end":"1931"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P26"}},{"key":"awards","label":"Awards","values":[{"text":"Congressional Gold Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q721743","date":"1928"},{"text":"Commander of the Legion of Honour","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10855212","date":"1889-09-10"},{"text":"Grammy Trustees Award","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5593916","date":"1977"},{"text":"Benjamin Franklin Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q817496"},{"text":"Matteucci Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1419938","date":"1887"},{"text":"Rumford Prize","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2096481","date":"1895"},{"text":"John Scott Award","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3332215","date":"1889"},{"text":"Franklin Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3141777","date":"1915"},{"text":"National Inventors Hall of Fame","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1366018","date":"1973"},{"text":"Navy Distinguished Service Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1086458","date":"1920"},{"text":"Albert Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4710826","date":"1892"},{"text":"Edward Longstreth Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21843362","date":"1899"},{"text":"Technical Grammy Award","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17011048","date":"2010"},{"text":"John Fritz Medal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6234290","date":"1908"},{"text":"honorary doctor of Rutgers University","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105477187"}],"source":{"label":"Wikidata","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743#P166"}}],"office":null,"sections":[],"cited":[],"cited_from":null,"videos":[],"last_reviewed":null,"organizations":[],"same_as":["https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison","https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A5%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B8_%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A8","https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743"],"faq":[{"q":"When was Thomas Edison born?","a":"Thomas Edison was born on 11 February 1847 in Milan."},{"q":"Where did Thomas Edison study?","a":"Thomas Edison was educated at Cooper Union."}],"related":[{"name":"Grace Hopper","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/grace-hopper"},{"name":"Tim Berners-Lee","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/tim-berners-lee"},{"name":"Johannes Gutenberg","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/johannes-gutenberg"},{"name":"Barack Obama","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/barack-obama"},{"name":"Donald Trump","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/donald-trump"},{"name":"Ronald Reagan","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/ronald-reagan"},{"name":"Abraham Lincoln","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/abraham-lincoln"},{"name":"George W. Bush","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/george-w-bush"},{"name":"Joe Biden","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/joe-biden"},{"name":"George Washington","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/george-washington"},{"name":"John F. Kennedy","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/john-f-kennedy"},{"name":"Franklin D. Roosevelt","url":"https://diginpl.com/people/franklin-d-roosevelt"}],"places_in":[],"nearby":[],"image":{"url":"https://diginpl.com/kb-img/thomas-edison-2c357bdc4b.jpg","width":500,"height":640,"license":"Public domain","credit":"Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Edison2.jpg"},"sources":[{"label":"Wikipedia (English): Thomas Edison","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikipedia (Nepali): थोमस एल्वा एडिसन","url":"https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%A5%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B8_%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%8F%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A8","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"},{"label":"Wikidata item Q8743","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8743","license":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},{"label":"Image: Thomas Edison2.jpg by Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke (Public domain)","url":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Edison2.jpg","license":null}],"license":{"text":"CC BY-SA 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","facts":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/"},"attribution":"Text from the Wikipedia article Thomas Edison, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Thomas Edison2.jpg — Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios , restored by Michel Vuijlsteke, Public domain.","cite":"\"Thomas Edison\". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-edison. Retrieved 5 November 2026.","date_modified":"2026-10-31T13:59:50Z","facts_checked":"2026-11-05","alternates":{"html":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-edison","en":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-edison","ne":"https://diginpl.com/people/thomas-edison?lang=ne"}}