Talk:Thomas Edison/Archive 11

Controversy header?
There is controversy about Edison's relationship with Nikola Tesla, and about whether he actually invented the lightbulb, plus the known and proven fact that he stole the invention of the charcoal briqquete. Please create a header which is about the controversy about Edison. Thank you! 68.205.124.22 21:02, 11 January 2016‎ (UTC)
 * You would need to supply (several) reliable sources re: that these "controversies" even exist. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 21:34, 11 January 2016 (UTC)
 * Strong evidence of this being a popular controversy (although not particular to Tesla, though perhaps the first guy resembles him?) would be a skit in Underage Peter, the most recent episode of Family Guy. It calls into question his having invented the lightbulb as well as the phonograph. It happens about 5/6 of the way in, right after Peter Griffin mentions Edison to inspire Brian to come help him repeal the 50-year drinking age. It goes as follows:
 * Peter: We can't just give up. I mean, what if Thomas Edison had given up? (skit begins)
 * Edison: Well, what's that? What's that thing you're working on?
 * Man 1: Well, it's a light bulb and..
 * Edison: A LIGHTBBUB. LIGHT BULB. Yeah, I invented that! Me, Thomas Edison. I invented the lightbulb! What's it do?
 * Man 1: It lights up the room using electrical..
 * Edison: LIGHTS UP THE ROOM USING ELECTRIC STUFF. I was about to say that, because I invented it! *walks ahead* What are you working on?
 * Man 2: It's a phonograph.
 * Edison: PHONOGRAPH! I knew that 'cause I invented it! I'm Thomas Edison! I rule!
 * Chorus (with onscreen text in all-caps white font) LOOK IT UP (linebreak) EDISON WAS A DICK!
 * Man 1 had black hair and moustache, bald on top. Man 2 has no moustache, brown hair. Man 3 (who does not speak) has orange hair and moustache.
 * Family Guy's writers doing this segment reflects it being a well enough known controversy for them to include this. Considering this episode only concluded 2 hours ago it may be some time until someone writes about it in something we can more readily cite though. 184.145.18.50 (talk) 04:34, 22 February 2016 (UTC)
 * Looking at Family Guy is WP:OR, fine if you are going to write a blog somewhere, not ok for Wikipedia. You would have to reference (several) secondary sources on this and this looks to be a popular culture perception so it would go in Thomas Edison in popular culture. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 14:20, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

Additional Museum
I do not see mention of Thomas Edison's Winter Home in Fort Myers, Florida. He wintered there alongside Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone. Here is the link to the museum. There is also a fountain downtown along the river titled 'Uncommon Friends' that depicts Edison, Ford, and Firestone around a campfire. Here is a link to a picture of the fountain

Tammylentzfowler (talk) 19:00, 24 February 2016 (UTC)Tammy Lentz-Fowler

Mina Edison - conflicting dates of death
death dates in this article do NOT agree. correction needed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:19C:4702:5920:BD81:494:6856:26A2 (talk) 19:46, 19 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Death dates all agree, where is it wrong? Found inconsistent birth date, Mina Miller was born July 6, 1865. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 17:04, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

Edison and Tesla
Edison and Tesla are two remarkable gentlemen who both made significant contributions to science and engineering in a number of diverse areas. Their paths crossed and both gained something from the encounter.

After reading about these two men I then read their Wikipedia articles and found the link between them articulated in the Tesla article, but the only mention I could find in the Edison article was in “List of people who worked for Edison” (Perhaps a minor editorial should be made to change the title to “Significant people who worked for Edison” as “list” could imply all.) Although a large number of people worked for Edison I think that of those that are listed that Tesla is among the most significant and as some of these have specific mention in the article I would propose that we make a small mention about Tesla. My proposal would be to add a new paragraph at the end of the section “Electric power distribution”.

“In 1884 Edison hired Nikola Tesla to his Edison Machine Works in New York. Tesla’s work included making improvement to Edison’s DC generator.”

This will alert the reader to Tesla’s employment by Edison and a link for additional information.

I would further propose adding a sentence about Tesla’s development of an AC motor and distribution system after leaving Edison’s company as this had significant impact on the development of AC utility companies that were rivals of Edison.

“After leaving the Edison Machine Works in 1886 Tesla pursued his ideas of an AC induction motor and in 1888 negotiated a licensing deal with Westinghouse for his US patents on AC distribution and induction motor.” Ian3060 (talk) 21:54, 8 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Biographies are not written from the POV of other people. Tesla is actually among the least significant Edison employees mention in the article. Edison did not "hired Nikola Tesla" - Tesla was hired by Charles Batchelor to work in a subsidiary of a very large Edison electric corporation, Edison Machine Works, and worked there for a grand total of 6 months. As such Tesla made little or no significant contribution to Edison electric, far less than most of the other people on "List of people who worked for Edison".... you could probably write whole articles on what a large number of those people contributed. Tesla’s development of an AC motor and distribution system did not have a significant impact on the development of AC utility companies that were rivals of Edison - the rivalry started in 1886 with a system developed by William Stanley Jr., not Tesla, and ran for the most part through 1890. Tesla licensed his AC motor patents in 1888 but Westinghouse did not introduce the system until 1893, after Edison retired from the electricity business and after Edison Electric ceased to exist, having became GE, an AC company. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 00:18, 9 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Tesla was hired by Charles Batchelor in 1882 to the Edison electric light companies in Paris that Batchelor was managing between 1881 and 1884. Tesla left that Edison company and went to New York in June 1884 with a letter to Edison from Batchelor “I know two great men and you are one of them; the other is this young man.” This was a strong recommendation from one of Edison’s key and trusted employees. Batchelor managed the Edison Machine Works from 1884 to 1888, which was the time that Tesla was there.


 * Point taken that Tesla’s AC innovations weren’t implemented in a timeframe that directly impacted Edison General Electric Company which only sold DC products. Edison’s failure to see the advantages of AC distribution and his insistence using DC was worrying to his investors and hence the 1892 merger with Thomson-Houston and their AC technology.  So Edison lost control of the company he founded and grew (and also the change of name to General Electric).


 * (An aside: If Edison had seen the advantages of AC distribution and been able to apply his inventiveness, resources and staff to the issues we would probably have the Edison General Electric Company thriving today. It’s obviously easier to say this in hindsight!)   Ian3060 (talk) 17:47, 9 April 2016 (UTC)

What is the origin of Alva?
Alba is a known family name in Mexico, It is a widespread myth that Edison had a Mexican ancestor in his family. For the text in the article, it seems that it is a wrong myth of unknown source in Mexico. I heard it a long time ago in a TV show, where they mentioned that Edison, had a Mexican ancestor, if my memory is not cheating me, they said that his mother's family was from Monterrey, NL, a state close to the US border. Anything about that, myth? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.233.103.224 (talk) 08:55, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 May 2016
Please add the section related to phonograph. It was invented by Edison yet it isn't present in the current article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph   This HTTP address says that phonograph was invented by edison. Thank You

180.151.247.130 (talk) 12:25, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. It's mentioned in the lede of the article, and pretty much the entire Thomas Edison is about his phonograph Cannolis (talk) 12:56, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 May 2016
In the second last paragraph of the "View on politics, religion and metaphysics" section (The one relating to Nonviolence) there is a quote about how "Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics".

This quote is repeated twice in the paragraph, for seemingly no reason. I would like to request that the second mention of the quote at the end of the paragraph is removed, as it serves no purpose or benefit to the article (as it is identical to the earlier mention of the quote )

86.142.172.241 (talk) 21:35, 26 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done — Andy W.  ( talk  · ctb) 21:41, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

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Semi-protected edit request on 28 June 2016
I suggest we add a line to explain why his mother school him at home (he was kicked out of school for being disruptive in the classroom) and mention a possible diagnosis of dyslexia.

Jody1969 (talk) 17:15, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. Sir Joseph (talk) 17:29, 28 June 2016 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Shall Not Be done: This thing u are asking is disputed, many different stories say different things, some say he was disruptive others say he wasntt good. There is no source reliable enough to say that why he was kicked out. Sorry for that, anyways this is User:VarunFEB2003's IP Address who is writing this message. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 180.151.243.88 (talk) 12:38, 5 July 2016 (UTC)

Joseph swan
Quoted from National Museum of American History "By late 1878, Swan reported success to the Newcastle Chemical Society and in February 1879 demonstrated a working lamp in a lecture in Newcastle. His lamps contained the major elements seen in Edison's lamps that October: an enclosed glass bulb from which all air had been removed, platinum lead wires, and a light-emitting element made from carbon. Why then is Edison generally credited (outside Britain) with inventing the light bulb?"

Not to mention Swans House, Underhill in Low Fell, Gateshead was the first to be lit by electric light in the world and he established the first light bulb factory in the world. and the Savoy theater was the first public building in the world to be lit by electric light.



Considering all this why is Joseph swan given only a very minor mention in this article, it isn't even mentioned that Edison worked on copies of Swans light bulbs to try and make them more efficient ( on Joesph Swan page "In America, Edison had been working on copies of the original light bulb patented by Swan, trying to make them more efficient. Though Swan had beaten him to this goal, Edison obtained patents in America for a fairly direct copy of the Swan light,")

At the very least "and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb." in the opening paragraph could be changed to something like "and improved the efficiency of Joseph swans invention of the light bulb

And Joesph swans light bulbs cant have been as unpractical as suggested if they lit homes and public buildings in London and were mass produced at the world's first light bulb factory at Benwell in Newcastle. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nick876436 (talk • contribs) 02:24, 14 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Please do not cherry pick quotes from sources to insert a WP:NPOV argument into an article. In this case you missed the "National Museum of American History" answer to its own question re: "It is for this realization about high resistance, and for his conception of the lamp as only one part of an integrated system, that Edison is generally credited with inventing the first practical incandescent lamp." Personal opinion/arguments definitely do not belong in an article lead. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 16:29, 14 November 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 November 2016
Jonathan3214 (talk) 00:02, 30 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Empty request - Mlpearc  ( open channel ) 00:02, 30 November 2016 (UTC)

Controversy header?
There is controversy about Edison's relationship with Nikola Tesla, and about whether he actually invented the lightbulb, plus the known and proven fact that he stole the invention of the charcoal briqquete. Please create a header which is about the controversy about Edison. Thank you!

(new person here, different from the above paragraph) This is really quite an important thing to note in any respectable page about Edison. Edison was undeniably a prolific businessman, but in academic circles he's widely regarded as a quack who relied entirely on others to make things his brain arbitrarily dreamt up, much like the silicon valley non-technical founders of today. It's only because he had so infinitely many ideas that even 1000 things "worked" in his lifetime (mostly after he hired people with actual academic credentials to work out the details). At the very least, the story about Tesla drastically improving Edison's inefficient electrical systems should be provided as the source of the "popular culture" portrayal of Edison as an adversary to Tesla, with this as the source:. If a mod believes there's a good reason to *not* give an unbiased portrayal of Edison, I'd like an explanation. Wikipedia pages should have the good and the bad, as long as there are reliable sources. --24.61.45.119 (talk) 15:26, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

Edison was especially good at inventing things AFTER someone else already invented them. This article reads like promotional material, not serious critical thought. Where's the part where he was the first man on the moon and cured cancer? 24.8.2.141 (talk) 23:40, 31 December 2016 (UTC)

Cause of death
Where is the cause of death? Sausagea1000 (talk) 16:41, 16 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Oddly enough, it's in the section titled Death (complications of diabetes). Hoof Hearted (talk) 20:14, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 April 2017
i want yo correct spelling mastakes 154.42.160.58 (talk) 08:50, 28 April 2017 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. Gulumeemee (talk) 09:31, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 May 2017
185.44.99.98 (talk) 09:55, 3 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. DRAGON BOOSTER   ★  11:21, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Crap link
"His mother taught him at home.[9] ". The ref if crap. Delete the sentence or get a better ref.
 * Yes check.svg Done Cannolis (talk) 12:04, 28 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Semi-protected edit request on 9 June 2017
a brilliant person also worked very hard. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.182.31.129 (talk) 14:03, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

In section "Places and people named for Edison" there's mistake - Pele's name is Edson. I suggest to change text to: "Footballer Pelé's father originally named him Edison... but the name was incorrectly listed on his birth certificate as "Edson"". Rma123 (talk) 07:00, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. The proposed change is almost the exact opposite of the current text, which is sourced to Pele's autobiography. If Pele is wrong about how he was named, please provide a source.  If the statement is simply wrong about what Pele's autobiography says, then we can change it. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 16:19, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
 * According to the article on Pelé, you have it backwards. He was named "Edson" in honor of the inventor, and the name on the birth certificate was typo'd in as "Edison".  Paine Ellsworth   put'r there  02:05, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

Edison's Canadian connections plus genealogy.
Hello I had done some work on Edison some years back and have uploaded it to www.symbolsofperspiration.wordpress.com. I hope this is of interest and that this link might somehow be added to the article.

Thanks and regards, Londonont (talk) 19:24, 8 September 2017 (UTC) Geoff Anderson

Semi-protected edit request on 16 October 2017
Ellenkeren21 (talk) 12:13, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. Cannolis (talk) 14:58, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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