Thomas A. Edison: Mexico’s Greatest Inventor?
- Dillion Liskai
- Jul 22
- 6 min read
In Houston, Mexico’s men’s soccer team recently captured its record 10th CONCACAF Gold Cup in a thrilling and hard-fought 2-1 victory over the United States. The clutch game winner was scored late in the game for Mexico by their captain, Edson Álvarez, who was deservingly awarded Player of the Tournament for his efforts. If that first name sounds familiar, Álvarez shares his first name with arguably the greatest player ever to play the game, Pelé. The Brazilian soccer legend, in turn, got his first name from our very own legend here in Milan, Thomas A. Edison. While most people believe that Thomas Edison was born in a place starting with the letter “M”, some believe that the place beginning with “M” was not Milan. A few 20th-century and even 21st-century historians think that Thomas Edison was not born in Milan, Ohio, but a few miles south of Milan in Sombrerete, Zacatecas, Mexico.
There are many ways that the legend goes, but all of the stories surrounding the idea of Thomas Edison being a Mexican citizen begin in the aforementioned town of Sombrerete. Sombrerete is a town in the northwestern portion of the Mexican state of Zacatecas. It currently has almost 64,000 residents, far larger than the small village of Milan.
As the story goes, Tomás Alva Edison was born February 18, 1848, in Sombrerete, in a small house on 19 Hidalgo Street, which was adorned with a bronze plaque to mark the momentous occasion. He was born to a man named Samuel Alva Ixtlixóchitl and an English woman named Nancy Edison. His father’s surname, Ixtlixóchitl, is a Nahuatl last name that, by some accounts, can be traced back to the Kingdom of Texcoco, a vast kingdom that the famous Aztec Empire absorbed.
Records suggest that a student named Tomás Alva went to school in Sombrerete. In an 1899 interview with a Durango, Zacatecas, Mexico newspaper called El Sol, former elementary school teacher José Guadalupe Ponce told reporters that he had Thomas Edison as a student in his class in Sombrerete. Still, his name at the time was Tomás Alva. According to a book written in 1909 by Fray Angel de los Dolores Tiscareño, Tomás Alva did not spend much of his youth in Mexico before moving to his adopted homeland of the United States.
Others corroborate this story because Thomas Edison spoke with a slight accent. While this can be easily explained by the fact that Thomas Edison was practically deaf for most of his life, proponents of Edison’s alternative origins argue that he spoke differently not because he couldn’t hear, but because English was not his first language. They say that since he was born and raised in Mexico, his first language would have naturally been Spanish, causing him to speak with an accent. Additionally, people have argued that the middle name “Alva” was further evidence that Thomas was born and raised in Mexico.
Admittedly, the theories have some “teeth” and credence. With all of this considered, was Thomas Edison born in Mexico? Was he Mexico’s greatest inventor? The short answer: no. Thomas Edison reportedly laughed hysterically when asked about possibly being from Mexico in an interview in 1909. He stated:
“Why, I was never in Mexico in my life. The records of my birth in Milan, Erie County, Ohio, are plain enough. I have seen the public records, and besides, it is in our family Bible, which I have up at the house. The man that started that yarn must be crazy. I don’t know how else he could say anything so ridiculous.”
The record from the family Bible is still “up at the house”. At Thomas A. Edison Birthplace, we have the exact page from the Bible that Thomas’ birth was recorded on, written in his father Samuel’s handwriting. Thomas’ name is on the bottom left-hand side of the page, and notably, it was squished in at the very bottom. While I can neither confirm nor deny Thomas’ “unexpectedness”, it is clear that Sam and Nancy may not have been anticipating a seventh child since they did not leave enough real estate on the page for one more.
On multiple occasions, Thomas Edison returned to his home in Milan, Ohio, and always spoke highly of his hometown. In his last trip to Milan, Ohio, on August 11, 1923, Edison brought Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone to tour the home where he was born and spent the first seven years of his life. When Henry Ford asked Thomas Edison which room he was born in, he immediately and unhesitatingly led Henry to the room where he was born. Not to mention, from the front yard of the Edison Birthplace, you can see the home of Dr. Lehman Galpin on the premises of the beautiful Milan Museum. According to his son, William, Dr. Galpin was the attending physician at Thomas’ birth.
There is some international flavor involved in the story of Thomas Edison, but it does not find its footing in the shadow of the mountains of western Mexico. Thomas Edison’s father, Samuel Ogden Edison, was born in Digby, Nova Scotia, Canada, and eventually found his way south to Vienna, Ontario, Canada. After partaking in the Mackenzie Rebellion of 1837 and finding himself an enemy of the government, Samuel was forced to flee to the United States, first to Port Huron, Michigan, and then to Milan, Ohio, on the suggestion of Captain Alva Bradley. Captain Bradley was not from Mexico, but from Ohio by way of Connecticut. Samuel built the brick home in Milan where Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847. He received the middle name “Alva” thanks to Captain Alva Bradley. It should be noted that although Alva was not of Hispanic descent, he did build a 104-ton merchant schooner on the Vermilion River named “South America”, but beyond that, there is no connection between Thomas Edison and Mexico.
So, although the great nation of Mexico may have claimed victory over the United States on the pitch, Mexico cannot claim to be the birthplace of the Wizard of Menlo Park. However, just because he was born in the United States, Americans should not be too hasty to claim them as theirs only. Some people throughout history have belonged to the entire world. Pelé might have been from Brazil, but what he did on a soccer pitch was a gift to the world. Likewise, Thomas Edison might have been from Milan, Ohio. Still, his genius, inventions, and inspiring legacy are gifts that belong not just to us Ohioans or us Americans, but to all of humankind.
Sources Used and Encouraged for Further Reading
Bitto, Robert. 2021. “Was Thomas Edison Really a Mexican? – Mexico Unexplained.” Mexico Unexplained. https://mexicounexplained.com/was-thomas-edison-really-a-mexican/
Carrasco, Isabel. 2021. “This Theory That Claims Thomas Alva Edison Was Actually Mexican.” Cultura Colectiva. https://culturacolectiva.com/en/history/thomas-alva-edison-mexican-origin-theory/
Fenton, Charles B. 1923. “Milan Gives Edison, Ford, Firestone Big Welcome.” The Sandusky Register (Sandusky), August 12, 1923, 2.
The Mazatlan Post. 2018. “Famous inventor Thomas Alva Edison was Mexican?” The Mazatlan Post, October 13, 2018. https://themazatlanpost.com/2018/10/13/famous-inventor-thomas-alva-edison-was-mexican/
Milan Museum. 2024. “Historic Milan Walking Tour.” Milan Museum. https://milanhistory.org/historic-milan-walking-tour/
Pelé, Orlando Duarte, and Alex Bellos. 2007. Pele: The Autobiography. 14. Simon & Schuster UK.
“Samuel and Nancy Elliott Edison - Thomas Edison National Historical Park (U.S National Park Service).” 2015. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/historyculture/samuel-and-nancy-elliott-edison.htm
San Diego Union and Daily Bee. 1909. “Edison Says He Is Not A Mexican.” July 24, 1909, 5. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU19090724.2.66&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------
Dillon Liskai, a native of Clyde, Ohio, is a Bowling Green State University junior. He is pursuing a degree in Adolescent to Young Adult (AYA) Integrated Social Studies Education, specializing in History.
Dillon has been a Thomas A. Edison Birthplace Museum tour guide for the past three years. When not at school or the museum, he enjoys cheering on the Bowling Green Falcons, spending time with friends and family, and exploring local history.
Have a question for Dillon? Reach out via email at dliskai@tomedison.org!
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