Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman born in 1847 in Ohio. He is most famous for inventing the first practical light bulb and developing early motion picture technology. Over his lifetime, Edison obtained 1,093 US patents and lived in several cities, including Ohio, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida, where he built industrial factories and had a winter home. He helped drive innovation and the development of technology through his many inventions and by founding companies like Edison Electric and General Electric.