Thomas Alva Edison is one of those people who made the greatest contribution to the appearance of the world as we see it today. This American inventor, the most prolific of the 20th century, patented more than a thousand inventions, which made him legendary during his lifetime. He participated in the creation of the phonograph, telegraph, telephone and the first devices that captured movement - the predecessors of cinema. However, there is no doubt that his main achievement was electric lighting, which came to all corners of the planet with the creation of the incandescent lamp, as well as the development of the first power station. His way of working - organizing large centers with many of the best specialists of his time - set an important precedent for the emergence of modern research institutes.