Before his death at age 83 in 1931, the prolific inventor amassed a record 1,093 patents for creations including the phonograph, a stock ticker, the motion-picture camera, the incandescent light bulb, a mechanical vote counter, the alkaline storage battery including one for an electric car, and the first commercial electric light.

[30] The Menlo Park lab was significant in that was one of the first laboratories to pursue practical, commercial applications of research.

[31] It was in his Menlo Park laboratory that Thomas Edison came up with the phonograph and a commercially viable incandescent light bulb filament.

It was the site of the 1924 Nixon Nitration Works disaster, a massive explosion and resulting fire that killed 20 people and destroyed several square miles of the township.

The rankings focused on low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and abundance of recreational activities.

[49] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Bonhamtown, Briarwood East, Camp Kilmer, Centerville,[citation needed] Clara Barton, Eggert Mills[citation needed], Greensand, Haven Homes, Lahiere, Lincoln Park, Lindenau, Martins Landing, Menlo Park, Millville, New Dover, New Durham, Nixon, North Edison, Oak Tree, Phoenix, Potters, Pumptown, Raritan Arsenal, Raritan Manor, Sand Hills, Silver Lake,[citation needed] Stelton, Stephenville, Valentine, and Washington Park.

[60][61] In Middlesex County, election ballots are printed in English, Spanish, Gujarati, Hindi, and Punjabi.

The area near the borders with Highland Park and the Livingston Campus at Rutgers University in Piscataway, has a number of Chinese food establishments, including Kam Man Food, 99 Ranch Market, and various dim sum, dumpling, dessert, and tea shops as well as the pan-Asian Korean-founded supermarket, H Mart.

The world's largest gathering of rabbis outside of Israel occurred at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on December 1, 2024.

Starting in the 2000s, manufacturing began to leave Central Jersey, and many facilities closed and moved overseas.

These companies include the Italian food producer and importer Colavita, an Amazon fulfillment center, as well as the regional hubs for FedEx, UPS, and Newegg.

[5][97][98] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Edison is Democrat Samip "Sam" Joshi, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025.

[99][100][101][102] The first (and to-date, only) female mayor of Edison was Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano, whose term of office ended on December 31, 2013.

[106] In June 2016, the Township Council selected Joseph Coyle from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by Robert Karabinchak, until he stepped down from office to take a vacant seat in the New Jersey General Assembly.

[108] Running on a good government platform and a call to reform the Democratic Party, Jun Choi won the June 2005 primary by a 56–44% margin, defeating longtime incumbent Mayor George A. Spadoro, the first time in Edison history that a challenger won the Democratic primary.

[109] An article in The American Prospect details aspects that Choi brought together in his 2005 mayoral campaign, including 1. attracting new voters into the process, 2. a good government message, 3. anti-Wal-Mart or economic justice theme and 4. an effective Internet-based progressive mobilization.

[110] In the general election, Jun Choi declared victory, leading in unofficial results with a vote of 12,126 to 11,935; a recount effort was unsuccessful.

On January 1, 2006, at age 34, Choi was sworn in by Governor Jon Corzine as the youngest mayor in Edison history.

[111] Recent politics in Edison have concerned plans for zoning the township to facilitate the creation of "walkable" communities that will attract businesses, while still maintaining open spaces and parks and easy access to commuter transit.

[122][123][124] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch).

[127] For the 2024-2025 session, the 18th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Patrick J. Diegnan (D, South Plainfield) and in the General Assembly by Robert Karabinchak (D, Edison) and Sterley Stanley (D, East Brunswick).

[162] Schools in the district (with 2021-22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[163]) are Edison Early Learning Center[164] (53 students; grades PreK-K), Franklin D. Roosevelt Preschool[165] (124; PreK-K), Benjamin Franklin Elementary School[166] (602; K-5), Martin Luther King Jr.

J.P. Stevens High School offers Mandarin Chinese and Standard Hindi as an elective language for students who are interested in learning it.

[201] Edison is a transport hub, with an extensive network of highways passing through the township and connecting to major Northeast cities, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Trenton and Washington, D.C..[202] Edison is located about 25 miles (40 km) from Newark Liberty International Airport, a 30 to 45 minute drive.

[209] When the "dual-dual" setup of the turnpike was created, it first started in Edison and continued north to Exit 14 in Newark.

In 2009, the New Jersey Department of Transportation selected Edison as one of the first communities to have a red light camera enforcement system.

[216] JFK Medical Center, located on James Street off Parsonage Road is a 498-bed hospital founded in 1967.

Edison has five Verizon Central offices serving the Township: In 1982, the BPU and New Jersey Bell, after receiving thousands of complaints from both North and South Edison residents, made an exception that any calls originating and terminating in the Township would be considered a local call.

Edison residents living on Roxy Avenue once again were in the spotlight in the news, with one side of the street served by the Rahway central office (Area code 732) and the other side of the street is served by the Plainfield central office (Area Code 908).

Before Cablevision, there was TKR, which was so poorly run that many FCC and BPU complaints about programming and many town hall meetings eventually forced change.