Yep. I agree. I wonder if it's related to the fact that he's from Yugoslavia that people didn't really recognize his inventions.
L
Tesla eclipses Edison by an order of magnitude, in terms of scientific accomplishments.
The only thing Edison should rightly be credited with is inventing the modern industrial / scientific "sweat shop" method of turning scientific discoveries into profitable processes and products. That is an accomplishment that may have more practical affects on human society than any of the "pure" scientific accomplishments of someone like Tesla, but it is not the same thing.
Tesla suffered 50 years of unremitting propaganda, primarily at the hands of Hollywood creating the stereotype of the eastern European mad scientist who is either out to destroy the world intentionally, or does damage through his ignorance of "nature's wisdom." This propaganda was created initially by Edison and continued out of perverse "loyalty" to him (really pandering) by those he helped establish in the early film industry through his patents (long story, Hollywood was created by "independents" who were fighting Edison's patent monopoly on motion pictures, but they helped perpetuate the anti-Tesla propaganda in part to assuage Edison after they beat his illegal trust).
I think Franklin would have liked both Edison and Tesla, but for different reasons. I'm desperately wanting to get hold of a relatively new book Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World. I love Tesla stuff.
Did you know that a derivative of a Tesla invention was used by the US government to cause the recent earthquake and Tsunami in Indonesia? It's true. They used the designs for the Wardenclyffe Project, which Tesla tested and accidentally caused the Tunguska incident. Really. I read it on the Internet. ;^>