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Thomas Edison In Popular Culture
Thomas Edison has appeared in popular culture as a character in novels, films, comics and video games. His prolific inventing helped make him an icon and he has made appearances in popular culture during his lifetime down to the present day. He is often portrayed in popular culture as an adversary of Nikola Tesla. Biographical works * ''Young Tom Edison'' (1940), played by Mickey Rooney. * ''Edison, the Man'' (1940), played by Spencer Tracy. * "The Electric Sunshine Man" is a musical for young voices about the life, times, and inventions of Thomas Edison; generally performed by youth choral groups in schools. * The ''Schoolhouse Rock'' song "Mother Necessity" featured Thomas Edison first as a child intending to be an inventor when he grows up "to make a lamp to help my mommy see..Wowee!/What an excellent application of electricity!" and then as a smart, rich man. * Edison occasionally appeared in caricature form on ''Histeria!'' His first major appearance was in a sketch in which he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory. Edison was raised in the American Midwest. Early in his career he worked as a telegraph operator, which inspired some of his earliest inventions. In 1876, he established his first laboratory facility in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where many of his early inventions were developed. He later established a botanical laboratory in Fort Myers, Florida, in co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Of The Currents
The war of the currents was a series of events surrounding the introduction of competing electric power transmission systems in the late 1880s and early 1890s. It grew out of two lighting systems developed in the late 1870s and early 1880s; arc lamp street lighting running on high-voltage alternating current (AC), and large-scale low-voltage direct current (DC) indoor incandescent lighting being marketed by Thomas Edison's company. In 1886, the Edison system was faced with new competition: an alternating current system initially introduced by George Westinghouse's company that used transformers to step down from a high voltage so AC could be used for indoor lighting. Using high voltage allowed an AC system to transmit power over longer distances from more efficient large central generating stations. As the use of AC spread rapidly with other companies deploying their own systems, the Edison Electric Light Company claimed in early 1888 that high voltages used in an alternating curr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edison's Conquest Of Mars
''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story ''The War of the Worlds''. It has a place in the history of science fiction for its early employment of themes and motifs that later became staples of the genre. The book features Thomas Edison as the primary character, though neither Edison nor H. G. Wells were involved in its creation (although the 2010 edition published by Apogee Books of Canada includes the credit "written in collaboration with Edison"). Set after the devastating Martian attack in the previous story, the novel depicts Edison leading a group of scientists to develop ships and weapons, including a disintegration ray, for the defence of Earth. Edison and company fight the aliens in space and on Mars, eventually causing a flood that defeats the enemy and forces an end to hos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Android (robot)
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot technology now allow the design of functional and realistic humanoid robots. Terminology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' traces the earliest use (as "Androides") to Ephraim Chambers' 1728 '' Cyclopaedia,'' in reference to an automaton that St. Albertus Magnus allegedly created. By the late 1700s, "androides", elaborate mechanical devices resembling humans performing human activities, were displayed in exhibit halls. The term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons. The term ''android'' was used in a more modern sense by the French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam in his work '' Tomorrow's Eve'' (1886). This story features an artificial humanlike robot named Hadaly. As said by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auguste Villiers De L'Isle-Adam
Jean-Marie-Mathias-Philippe-Auguste, comte de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam (7 November 1838 – 19 August 1889) was a French symbolism (arts), symbolist writer. His family called him Mathias while his friends called him Villiers; he would also use the name Auguste when publishing some of his books. Life Villiers de l'Isle-Adam was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, to a distinguished aristocratic family. His parents, Marquis Joseph-Toussaint and Marie-Francoise (née Le Nepvou de Carfort) were not financially secure and were supported by Marie's aunt, Mademoiselle de Kerinou. In attempt to gain wealth, Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's father began an obsessive search for the lost treasure of the Knights of Malta, formerly known as the Knights Hospitaller, of which Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, a family ancestor, was the 16th-century Grand Master of the order. The treasure had reputedly been buried near Quintin during the French Revolution. Consequently, Marquis Joseph-Toussaint spent la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1886 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1886. Events *January – '' MLN: Modern Language Notes'', an academic journal, introduces European literary criticism into American scholarship. It is founded at Johns Hopkins University. *January 5 and January 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's horror novella ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' appears in New York and London. Almost 40,000 copies are sold in the first six months. *January 17 – The Anglo-Irish writers and cousins Somerville and Ross first meet, at Castletownshend, County Cork, Ireland. *February – A list of 100 books considered "necessary for a liberal education", compiled by John Lubbock, is published. *February 22 – The first performance of William Gillette's American Civil War drama ''Held by the Enemy'' is held at the Criterion Theater, Brooklyn, New York. *April 10 – Anatole Baju begins publication of the magazine '' Le Décadent'' in Paris, in an effort to define a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Future Eve
''The Future Eve'' (also translated as ''Tomorrow's Eve'' and ''The Eve of the Future''; french: L'Ève future) is a symbolist science fiction novel by the French author Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Begun in 1878 and originally published in 1886, the novel is known for popularizing the term " Android". Plot Villiers opens the novel with his main character, a fictionalized Thomas Edison, contemplating the effects of his inventions on the world and the tragedy that they were not available until he invented them. Interrupted in his reverie, Edison receives a message from his friend Lord Ewald, who saved his life some years before and to whom he feels indebted. When Ewald calls, he reveals that he is close to suicide because of his fiancée, Miss Alicia Clary. Alicia is described as being physically perfect but emotionally and intellectually empty. She will say whatever she believes others want to hear. Far from having any ambition or goals of her own, she lives her life based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edisonade
"Edisonade" is a term, coined in 1993 by John Clute in his and Peter Nicholls' ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', for fictional stories about a brilliant young inventor and his inventions, many of which would now be classified as science fiction. This subgenre started in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and had its apex of popularity during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other related terms for fiction of this type include scientific romances. The term is an eponym, named after famous inventor Thomas Edison, formed in the same way the term "Robinsonade" was formed from ''Robinson Crusoe''. History Usually first published in cheaply printed dime novels, most such stories were written to appeal to young boys. The Edisonade formula was an outgrowth of the fascination with engineering and technology that arose near the end of the 1800s, and a derivative of the existing Robinsonade formula. Clute defines the word in his book: As used here the term "edisonade"—d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence Olivier Award. He has also been nominated for two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2014, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2015, he was appointed a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the performing arts and to charity. Cumberbatch studied drama at the Victoria University of Manchester and obtained a Master of Arts in classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He began acting in Shakespearean theatre productions before making his West End debut in Richard Eyre's revival of ''Hedda Gabler'' in 2005. Since then, he has starred in Royal National Theatre productions of '' After the Dance'' (2010) and ''Frankenstei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Current War
''The Current War'' is a 2017 American historical drama film inspired by the 19th-century competition between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse over which electric power delivery system would be used in the United States (often referred to as the "war of the currents"). Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, written by Michael Mitnick, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Steven Zaillian, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison, Michael Shannon as Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult as Nikola Tesla, and Tom Holland as Samuel Insull, alongside Katherine Waterston, Tuppence Middleton, Matthew Macfadyen and Damien Molony. Announced in May 2012, Gomez-Rejon was confirmed in September 2015. Cumberbatch, Shannon, and Hoult joined the cast by October 2016, and filming began in England that December. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017. Originally to be distributed by The Weinstein Company, the film was shelved and sold in November ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vítězslav Nezval
Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czechs, Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealism, Surrealist movement in Czechoslovakia. Biography His father was a school teacher in the village of Biskoupky (Brno-Country District), Biskoupky in Southern Moravia who often traveled to see art exhibitions and was also a musician who studied under the composer Leoš Janáček.Serafin, S., ''Twentieth-Century Eastern European Writers'', Vol. 1 (Farmington Hills: Gale (publisher), Gale Group, 1999). At age eleven, Nezval was sent to the gymnasium in Třebíč, where he learned piano and to compose music. He began writing in his teenage years while he was still interested in music. He was said to have played an accordion while studying the stars. In 1918, he was drafted into the Austrian army, but quickly sent home when he became ill. After the first Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odessa (Bee Gees Album)
''Odessa'' is the sixth studio album by the Bee Gees, a double vinyl LP record, LP released on 30 March 1969, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering. Despite reaching the UK Top Ten and the US Top 20, the album was not particularly well-received, though now is regarded by many as the most significant of the group's Sixties albums. An ambitious project, originally intended as a concept album on the loss of a fictional ship in 1899, it created tension and disagreements in the band regarding the work's direction; finally, a dispute over which song to release as a single led to Robin Gibb temporarily leaving the group. Released by Polydor Records in the UK and Atco Records in the US, ''Odessa'' was the group's fourth album released internationally, and their only double album of original music. It would be the final Bee Gees album to include guitarist Vince Melouney. The album includes the 1969 hit single "First of May (Bee Gees song), First of May" (UK no. 6 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
