With the invention of the kinetoscope in the late 1880's, Edison founded the American motion-picture industry. Edison and one of his trusted assistants, W. K. L. Dickson, began experimenting with celluloid film and found a way to do for images what they had done for sound. They recorded a series of images, each showing a tiny move forward. When viewed in rapid succession, the images gave the impression of movement. They developed a camera and the "peep-show" kinetoscope for viewing the films.

Although Edison's work as a businessman decreased over time, his inventive work continued for decades. Inventions included an improved phonograph, dictating machines, an improved storage battery, and a method for ore separation. Inventions such as the improved battery provided financial stability to Edison's laboratory and companies. Others, such as his magnetic ore separator, failed. Nevertheless, Edison persevered. He eventually became the nation's "inventor-philosopher," with reporters seeking his opinion on everything from diet to the existence of God.

He died at his home, Glenmont, in West Orange, New Jersey, on October 18, 1931. President Herbert Hoover asked the nation to dim its lights in his honor. Edison changed the lives of Americans by bringing sound and light into their homes and businesses. While he became nationally and internationally famous upon his invention of the phonograph, some of his later inventions had a greater impact. The power distribution system that Edison developed to supply electrical power to his light bulb changed American homes forever. It not only provided light but also made possible the invention and use of numerous small household devices. Edison's inventions affected and sometimes created industries, including motion pictures, music, and electric power.

Edison's greatest contribution may have been the "invention of the method of invention," as Alfred North Whitehead called the greatest invention of the nineteenth century. Having begun his professional life as an independent inventor, Edison ended with perhaps the first modern research and development laboratory and team. His vision included what the twentieth century would term "innovation"--invention, research, development, and commercialization.

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