Cottrill Edison Statue Unveiled In Columbus

Ohio officials have unveiled a new statue of Thomas Edison before it will be sent to its permanent home in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. During a ceremony Wednesday at the Ohio Statehouse, state leaders said the inventor captures Ohio’s entrepreneurial spirit. It was created by Zanesville Sculptor Alan Cottrill. Each state get to place two statues of notable historic figures in the Capitol. Ohio lawmakers settled on Edison after deciding to replace one of former Ohio Governor William Allen becaused he supported southern slave owners. Edison was born in the northern Ohio town of Milan and spent the first seven years of his life there before going on to invent the phonograph and the first practical incandescent light bulb.