Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb—but here’s what he did do. With more than a thousand patents to his name, the legendary inventor's innovations helped define the modern world.

In 1878, Thomas Edison — already an internationally famous inventor in his early 30s, set out to create an incandescent light bulb that provided enough light to illuminate a home but would last ...

In the autumn of 1878, Thomas Alva Edison had a problem. He hadn’t invented the light bulb —yet. Or, to put it more precisely, he had invented a light bulb, but he couldn’t keep it lit for ...