Fred Ott

Frederick Paul Ott (1860 in New Jersey – October 24, 1936 in West Orange, New Jersey), skilled machinist, was a key employee of Thomas Edison's laboratories from the 1870s until Edison's death in 1931.

His likeness appears in two of the earliest surviving motion pictures – the well-known Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (a.k.a.

Shot in medium close-up, the film shows Ott seemingly taking a pinch of snuff causing him to sneeze.

[2] Ott began working with Edison in 1874 (at age 14) and became one of the inventor's most valued employees and closest friends.

[3] Ott died at his home in West Orange, New Jersey, on October 24, 1936.