Thomas Edison

The name Thomas Edison is synonymous with inventions that changed our world: the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture camera. But Edison’s genius extended beyond inventions, patents and technologic improvements. What transformed the tireless pragmatic inventor into the “Wizard of Menlo Park” was his dogmatic, prescient emphasis on industrial research and development as well as marketing and promotion. As TIME demonstrates here, Thomas Edison was the über-Steve Jobs of his day, advancing the technological revolution and ushering in the first era of electronic wonders to a receptive and grateful consumer.