Modern life is unthinkable without various types of electrical appliances. Meanwhile, electricity has been used for practical purposes for a little over 100 years. It is interesting that the first electrical devices were most often created not by professional physicists, but by self-taught inventors. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) is one of the most prominent representatives of this “tribe”. He invented the incandescent lamp, the phonograph, and the kinetoscope, which laid the foundation for the modern era of electronics. The special thing about Edison is that he was not just an inventor. Having the spirit of an entrepreneur, he organized an entire research center, and then created a number of companies, including Edison General Electric. This allowed him to put the devices he created into mass production. Thus, Edison turned out to be one of the creators of scientific and technological progress that transformed the world. In this sense, he is one of the “creators” of the 20th century. As Edison said: “The value of an idea is determined by its usefulness.”