>>>>Edison took the glory and that is about all he contributed to "his inventions". He had a laboratory of men working for him who did the inventing.
>>>
>>>Reminds me of something similar... more glory to the capitalist system:
>>>
>>>Some artist in New York (name was Mark ? (forget the last name)) who had gained favour with the art-buying public had a studio where he employed several people to paint the actual canvases but "under his direction". This, he felt, gave him the right to sign his own name to the paintings, each of which sold for a very handsome price.
>>
>>I think even Michaelangelo had help with the Cistene (sp) Chapel!
>
>Did Michaelangelo sell panels of the ceiling and pocket the dough?

Dunno. It wasn't in "The Agony & The Ecstacy" :-)

>I think there's a tad of difference between the two cases. But I have no doubt that the Mark guy who did this was using that in his logic to justify it as well.

Yeah, I know. Marcel Duchamp went even one step further; he named existing structures as his "Readymades", including his "la Fontaine" (a urinal), LHOOQ (the Mona Lisa with a moustache) and the New York Woolworths building.

LHOOQ BTW is a French pun: "Elle a chaud au cul" or "She has a hot bottom"

http://www.studiolo.org/Mona/MONASV12.htm

>
>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison
>>>>
>>>>Edison owned the company and owned the patents.
>>>>
>>>>Just like today. Take Hewlett Packard for example. I knew engineers there that invented many things but HP owns the patent rights. You never hear the name of the “inventor”. Just HP.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>I agree. Throughout history, there have been many who have made major contributions to science and received no recognition.
>>>>>
>>>>>Here's one... I don't know if it's myth or fact, but it is claimed that the incandescent light bulb was actually invented by a Canadian who sold rights to his patent to Edison. Yet we've all learned that "Thomas Edison invented the light bulb". (apparently Edison had the connections and know-how to get the thing to market (which I guess in the end is what really matters)).
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I used to have an absolute trust in "Nobel Prize Winner" designation, until I found out this:
>>>>>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Paulescu
>>>>>>>You may say that it was an exception, but since something so blatantly unfair could happen, it's hard to not become skeptical.