Much of the credit for this change goes to the hard, thoughtful work (as well as some barely legal machinations with piles of cash behind the scenes) of Samuel Insull. Born and raised in England, Insull spent his first twenty years in America as Thomas Edison’s personal secretary. Apparently his success in this job was attributed not only to his fastidiousness in all things, but also to the fact that he was one of the few people who needed as little sleep as the inventor. If Edison wanted to order a bunch of copper at two in the morning, Insull was at his desk, ready to make it happen.
