Edison Held 1,093 U.S. Patents—A Record for 72 Years

Thomas Alva Edison wasn't just an inventor—he was a patent machine. Over his 84-year life, Edison was awarded 1,093 U.S. patents, a staggering record that wouldn't be broken until 2003, a full 72 years after his final patent application.

But the numbers get even more impressive. When you include his foreign patents filed in 34 countries, Edison's total reaches 2,332 patents worldwide. That's an average of one new patent every two weeks for his entire adult life.

The Peak Years

Edison's most productive year was 1882, when he completed 106 successful U.S. patent applications. This was during the height of his work on electric light and power systems—the innovation that would change the world forever.

And those 1,093 successful patents? They're just the tip of the iceberg. Edison filed an estimated 500-600 unsuccessful or abandoned applications as well. Not every idea made it, but he never stopped trying.

The Hits

Among those thousand-plus patents were some of history's most transformative inventions:

• The phonograph (1877)—his personal favorite and the invention that earned him the nickname "The Wizard of Menlo Park"
• The practical incandescent light bulb (1880)—not the first light bulb, but the first long-lasting enough for widespread use
• The Kinetograph and Kinetoscope—early motion picture camera and viewer that laid the groundwork for modern cinema

Edison didn't just invent individual gadgets. He invented entire systems. His electric lighting patent covered not just the bulb, but the generators, wiring, fixtures, switches—everything needed to bring electricity into homes.

A Lifetime of Innovation

Edison filed his first successful patent application on October 13, 1868, at just 21 years old. It was for an electric vote recorder—a device that, ironically, nobody wanted. He learned a valuable lesson: only invent things people will buy.

From that first patent to his last application in 1931, Edison spent 63 years relentlessly innovating. His laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, became the world's first true research and development facility, employing teams of scientists and machinists to turn ideas into reality.

When a Japanese inventor finally surpassed his U.S. patent record in 2003, Edison had held the title for seven decades. Not bad for a man who was partially deaf and had only three months of formal schooling.