Edison was recognized as a genius and, yes, he was a virtuoso surfer as well.
Contrary to the popular story, he did not invent the light bulb. A long search for electric lighting had begun in the early 1800s. He joined the search in the 1870s because he saw how to
build an electrical distribution system that would power lamps in homes and shops.
He performed hundreds of experiments until he found a lamp design that would last long enough to be useful.
He announced his incandescent lamp in 1879.
A year later, he patented an electrical distribution system and got one operating in 1882 on
Hudson Street in New York City.
He said lamps were useless without electricity and he pledged to make electricity so cheap that only the rich would burn candles.
He undertook the lamp experiments only when he believed that by the time he found a robust lamp
he would have a solution for cheap electrical distribution.
He timed his entry onto the waves of those possibilities and rode them to a convergence.
He set off an avalanche of people moving to use electric rather than gas lighting.