On October 18th 1931 US inventor Thomas Ava Edison died aged 84.

Thomas Edison only received three months of official schooling, his teacher considering him to be "addled." After that, he was home schooled. Which shows you that the school system often simply does not work.

Edison was both an inventor and a businessman. He held 1,093 patents in the US in his name, as well as holding many in other countries. His inventions had an enormous effect on the world, particularly as it related to electricity, with such things as the electric light bulb, sound recording and motion pictures.

During his life he set up many successful companies. The most well known that still trade are probably General Electric and Consolidated Edison.

Image: By Louis Bachrach, Bachrach Studios, restored by Michel Vuijlsteke [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Edison2.jpg)