The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

This collection consists of newspaper clippings and a photograph relating to Edison associate, Frank D. Fagan (1880-1974), the great-uncle of the collection's owner. Fagan grew up in Santa Paula, California, and went to work for the General Electric Co. as a lamp salesman in 1908. By 1915 he had risen to the position of sales manager for the Pacific Coast. While working on the lighting and arrangements for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, he came up with the idea of an "Edison Day" to commemorate the invention of the electric light. In 1920 Edison invited him to become vice president and general manager of the Edison Storage Battery Co. at a substantial increase in salary. He resigned in January 1923 to take a position as an advisor to Tokyo Electric, a company that distributed General Electric bulbs in Japan. Three years later, he moved back to California, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Two of the clippings in the collection date from Edison's trip to California in October 1915. One describes a visit by Edison to Fagan's hometown of Santa Paula, where he was entertained at an informal reception at the residence of Fagan's parents. The other four clippings date from the 1950s and 1960s and contain biographical information regarding Fagan and his association with Edison. The photograph dates from Edison's 1915 visit to Santa Paula. The small child on his right is Frances Fulstone Hurst, the great-aunt of the collection's owner.