Edison Announces Phonograph

Date: November 21, 1877 • Location: Washington, United States

Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.

Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman known for his work on the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, electric power distribution and early motion pictures. The merger of the Edison General Electric Company and the competitor Thomson-Houston Electric Company resulted in the formation of General Electric. Edison registered 1,093 patents in the United States.