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Season 5 · Episode 16
0.044mAugust 5, 1996
Thomas Alva Edison, America’s most prolific inventor, revolutionized modern life by securing 1,093 patents and pioneering the first industrial research laboratory. This profile chronicles his journey from a curious youth to a global icon, exploring breakthrough creations like the phonograph, incandescent light bulb, and early motion pictures. Beyond his professional triumphs, it delivers a balanced look at his personal life, examining how an obsessive work ethic strained his family relationships and fueled his cutthroat instincts as an aggressive entrepreneur.