In short, a
total butthole that took employees's inventions to the patent
office, claimed they were his, and got all the credit.
To convince the American public not to use Nikola Tesla's
AC system,
Thomas Edison paid schoolkids to kidnap cats and dogs from homes nearby his lab so that he could electrocute them to death with
AC power.
Also, see this about Nikola Tesla:
www.theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla