“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration,” a quote widely believed to have been uttered by a famous inventor, Thomas Alva Edison, in the early 20th century . As such, his diligence contributed to the progress of humanity. Before the 19th century and the birth of Thomas Edison, technology was limited and life was not as easy as it is today. Due to the lack of advanced technology, people relied on traditional methods to work. Therefore, the productivity of the population at that time was low compared to today. During his life, Thomas Edison introduced and invented various products that revolutionized the way we live and is still considered one of the greatest inventors of all time. However, some argue that it was actually Nikola Tesla and not Thomas Edison who changed the world and made it better (Kleinman, 2013). This essay first describes the life of Thomas Alva Edison focusing on his achievements, then examines his labor conflict with Nikola Tesla, followed by an investigation into an invention wrongly attributed to Thomas Alva Edison and finally evaluates the reasons for which Nikola Tesla deserves the title of “The greatest inventor”. On February 11, 1847, Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. As his teachers called him a “failure,” Edison was sent to be homeschooled by his mother (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012, para. 2). According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2012), Edison decided to become an inventor in his own right in 1869 and obtained his first patent for an electric voting machine. However, the invention did not sell well and he promised to never invent a product that could... middle of paper... after his death (Kleinman, 2013). For example, a scientist called Guglielmo Marconi, who actually used Tesla's technology, claimed to have invented radio (ibid.). It was only a few months after Tesla's death that the United States Supreme Court recognized Tesla as the inventor of radio (ibid.). As has been demonstrated, it seems very likely that Thomas Alva Edison was not "the greatest inventor." Although research on this topic has been extensive, it has not been possible to cover all the inventors who worked with Thomas Edison and the inventions that have been wrongly attributed to him. It is clear, however, that Nikola Tesla must be considered one of the greatest inventors of all time because of his contribution to humanity. It is therefore important to emphasize that we should not always assume something just because the majority of society does so...