Known as ‘The Wizard of Menlo Park’, Thomas Edison (1847-1931) lived up to the nickname with his incredible inventions. Among his 1,093 patents, he invented: the light bulb, electricity distribution, the telephone transmitter, the automatic telegraph, the kinetograph (a movie camera), and the phonograph (a recording device). Many of these inventions were built off of others’ innovations–but he improved them, leading the way to even further modernizations. Edison is viewed as a quintessential American inventor as well as businessman.