This is the eighth in a series of articles looking back over ‘Geek Facts’. Today’s topic is the ‘Geekiest Person’.
Each day last year, I posted a Geek Fact for that day. A Geek Fact is something geeky that happened on that day in history. I have to say that it was a pretty interesting exercise. I learned many things that I ordinarily wouldn’t have. For the 366 days of 2012, 464 Geek Facts were posted. On average, that’s roughly one each day with an extra posted each 4th day.
The geekiest person was Thomas Alva Edison with 9, or about 2%, of the Geek Facts. Being the prolific inventor that he was, this came as no surprise. Honorable mentions go to Alexander Graham Bell (4) and Albert Einstein (3).
Edison’s Geek Facts are:
• February 2, 1847 – Edison was born.
• August 8, 1876 – Edison received a patent for his mimeograph.
• November 21, 1877 – Edison announced his “talking machine” invention.
• February 19, 1878 – Edison patented the phonograph.
• October 21, 1879 – Edison produced a working prototype of the electric incandescent lamp.
• September 4, 1882 – Edison Illuminating Company’s first electric power station began operating.
• August 31, 1897, Edison received a patent for the Kinetoscope, a device for producing moving pictures.
• May 24, 1915 – Edison invented the telescribe to record telephone conversations.
• October 18, 1931 – Edison died.
According to the National Park Service,
Edison earned 1,093 United States patents, a record number for one person that still stands. He also earned at least several hundred foreign patents from Great Britain, France, Germany and other countries. Most foreign patents were similar to the American ones.
You can’t get much geekier than that!
To read earlier installments in the Geek Facts Retrospective series:
Part 1 – Geek Facts Retrospective – My Favorite Geek Facts
Part 2 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Topic
Part 3 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Day
Part 4 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Week
Part 5 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Month
Part 6 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Year
Part 7 – Geek Facts Retrospective – The Geekiest Decade
