Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were two of the most influential minds of the 19th century. Edison, the magician of Menlo Park, worked hard all his life to achieve great scientific feats. Tesla, the master of lightning, had a brilliant mind and contributed to an electronic growth that changed American history. Thomas Edison is such a familiar name, but Tesla, on the other hand, is more obscure. Edison is widely known to the American public, but his intellectual equal and adversary is often forgotten. Edison and Tesla were once friends and worked together on many projects, but an argument over a bet changed their friendship and the world forever (D'Alto). The two men challenged each other throughout their lives, and their differences in inventions, productivity, financial success, and fame should have etched their names in history for eternity, but it did not. not the case. Thomas Edison has always been in the hearts and minds of the American public as the greatest inventor, but the facts can proclaim that Nikola Tesla is the better man and more deserving of public admiration. Thomas Edison's inventions were simplistic at heart and they satisfied a direct and immediate need. “Among his best-known inventions were a bank note dispenser, the incandescent light bulb, an automatic telegraph device, the phonograph and a cinema apparatus” (“Thomas Alva Edison”). All of Edison's inventions required DC or direct current to operate. Edison's consistent use of the direct current power source for all of his inventions distinguished his work from that of Tesla. The constant need for Edison's inventions led to a drastic increase in Edison's productivity. As a young man, Edison developed very productive habits, which he translated into the latter part of...... middle of article......2011.Jaleshgari, Ramin P. “Doing shedding light on a neglected genius. » New York Times February 23, 1997. Gale Science In Context. Internet. February 28, 2011. Jones, Jill. “Power outages? Edison could say, “I told you so.” New York Times October 2, 2003: G3. The science of gales in context. Internet. February 28, 2011. Mone, Gregory. “The men who brought electricity to the world.” Popular Science August 1, 2003: 86. Gale Science In Context. Internet. February 28, 2011. “Nikola Tesla.” Notable scientists from 1900 to the present. Ed. Brigham Narin. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Gale Science in Context. Internet. February 28, 2011. Stross, Randall. “Edison the inventor, Edison the showman.” New York Times March 11, 2007: BU1(L). The science of gales in context. Internet. March 1, 2011. “Thomas Alva Edison.” Notable scientists from 1900 to the present. Ed. Brigham Narin. Detroit: Gale Group, 2008. Gale Science in Context. Internet. March 1. 2011.