Thomas Edison's Last Moments Revealed

In October 1931, Thomas Alva Edison died at his Glenmont Estate at the age of 84.  To commemorate the anniversary of his death, the National Park Service will offer two evening tours of .

The “Last Moments” tours will take place on Saturday, October 20, at 7 and 8 p.m.  Advance reservations are required and space is limited.  Call 973-736-0550 ext. 89 for tickets and important driving information.  Admission to the program is free.

Edison , leaving behind a career that spanned four decades.  His public profile and global impact led President Herbert Hoover to request a dimming of all lights nationwide in his memory.  After his death, his family arranged a public viewing at his Main Street, West Orange laboratory, which lasted two days and was attended by thousands.

Residents who attend the tour this month will have an oppurtunity to learn more about Thomas Edison’s last moments.  They can hear passages from his last will and testament and understand how the world was affected by his passing.  Visitors will also have a rare opportunity to view Edison’s death mask – an exact copy of the original plaster cast made by James Earle Fraser, a family friend and noted sculptor – and a bronze cast of Edison’s right hand.

Thomas Edison moved to West Orange in 1886 at the age of forty, already a successful and wealthy inventor.  He was also a newlywed and had bought the Glenmont Estate as a wedding gift for his second wife, Mina Miller.  The Edisons spent the rest of their lives in West Orange.  Their three children were born in West Orange and almost half of Edison’s patents were generated there.