Thomas Edison — "I have friends in the electrical industry who would be very happy to see me dead…"
I have friends in the electrical industry who would be very happy to see me dead.
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Details
Reported amidst his 'War of Currents' with Westinghouse.
Date: Late 19th Century
Self-DeprecatingVerification
Unverifiable
Found in 1 providers: grok
1 source checked
Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker claims rivals in the electrical business want him gone. He is saying his success has created powerful enemies who would financially benefit from his death, because his patents, products, or influence stand in the way of their profits. It is a blunt acknowledgment that commercial competition can turn personal and dangerous when enormous money and market control are at stake.
Relevance to Thomas Edison
Edison built an empire on direct current and fiercely defended his patents against competitors like Westinghouse and Tesla, who championed alternating current. His aggressive litigation, public smear campaigns, and electrocution demonstrations during the War of Currents made him genuine enemies. As founder of what became General Electric, Edison controlled enormous wealth and blocked rivals, so the idea that industry figures wished him removed fits his combative, monopoly-minded career.
The era
The late 1800s and early 1900s were the cutthroat dawn of electrification, when fortunes hinged on which inventor's system wired America. The War of Currents pitted Edison's DC against Westinghouse and Tesla's AC, involving patent wars, propaganda, and staged animal electrocutions. Trust-era capitalism rewarded ruthless tactics, and industrial titans like Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Morgan faced real threats, making rivalries genuinely menacing during this Gilded Age scramble.
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