Thomas Alva Edison ( picture ), an American inventor, was born on February 11, 1847. He died 84 years later on October 18, 1931. Edison was the first inventor to apply mass production to his work. He held a record 1093 patents worldwide in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. Thomas Edison was a friend of Henry Ford (1863 – 1947), one of the major industrialists of his time. Early in the 1900’s, Edison purchased a house in Fort Meyers, Florida. Henry Ford lived across the street. It is now a museum called the Edison and Ford Winter Estates and is open to the public. Thomas Edison lived and conducted his business in the state of New Jersey. Edison, NJ (Menlo Park), (formerly Raritan Township) is governed by a Mayor and a Council (Faulkner Act) and was named after Thomas Edison. Edison, NJ with a population of 97,687 is located in Middlesex County. The County population is 750,162. The County seat is New Brunswick, home of Panico’s Restaurant.