Compiled by Jan Nicolaas Kind

Jaishree Kannan
Not so long ago Jaishree Kannan who is in charge of the Adyar Library and Research Centre submitted a kind of “mystery-photo” without any backgriound information to me when we were exploring some historical photos of famous persons who might have once visited Adyar and Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931), the world-famous inventor, was one of them. It has now become clear that he never made it to Adyar, but his phonograph certainly did. He was the fourth most prolific inventor in history, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Thomas Edison died of complications of diabetes on October 18, 1931, in his home, "Glenmont" in Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey.