Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) is perhaps the prototypical inventor, famous for the extremely wise words that “genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” His most prominent contribution in the eyes of the American zeitgeist is most likely the (commercially viable) electric light bulb, but he developed thousands of other devices, including the phonograph and the Kinetoscope, both of which are foundational in the world of cinema.

A list of prominent American inventors would also have to include Ben Franklin and Nikola Tesla, and like those other luminaries, Edison’s career was not without its dark side. While Franklin could be insufferably pompous (a tendency exacerbated by his undeniable success, insight, and genius), and Tesla is a prime example of how closely linked are genius and madness, Edison was in the inventing game almost entirely for the money. The positive aspect of this is that he gave birth to the modern concept of industrial research, the backbone of much of today’s innovation and progress; the negatives are much the same as with any other large business interest.

A number of Edison’s patents were later overturned due to prior art, and he laid claim to the lion’s share of credit for innovations on which numerous individuals contributed major research. He also did whatever was necessary to promote his intellectual property over any alternatives, even if the alternatives were superior. The most famous example would likely be “The War of Currents,” in which Edison pursued a campaign of propaganda and misdirection so as to protect his existing DC electrical infrastructure, instead of attempting to innovate and out-compete the new, and entirely more useful, kid on the block, AC electricity.

At first glance the Kinetoscope may not seem like much, and that opinion might survive a second and third glance, too. The device is almost comically limited by todays standards, as it was not a screen projection device. Instead, viewers watched the film through a peephole, one at a time. It did, however, create the basic film system that has endured to the present, in which a single strip of film bearing sequential images is passed over a light source. Later the Kinetoscope would be paired with a phonograph, the combination coming to be known as a Kinetophone. Although films remained predominately silent until the late 1920’s, researchers were watching videos with soundtracks as early as 1894 due to Edison’s (and William Kennedy Dickson’s) work.

This is Part Two of a multi-part series of posts. Part One discuses Eadweard Muybridge. Part Three discusses Louis Le Prince. Part Four discusses the Lumière Brothers.