Re-Verse-atility Mystery Cache

Here is a puzzle. Here is a poem. The Geo-coords will appear.
But a run-of-the-mill approach will not get you near
To that which you seek. No. The solution is well-hidden
In verse. So thinking-caps on and do what you are bidden.
Read the poem. Use the clues. See what you find.
Hopefully this will test even the strongest of mind.
If you get stuck wait a moment… Your Geo-sense will return
For I promise a solution is there to discern.

The key to this puzzle is a time-honored name.
A man smart and bold with well-deserved fame
Is your query. Search Google. Try Bing. Look on Yahoo.
Good luck with the homework. Now for your first puzzle-clue.
Seek out an Eli of both art and learning.
That should get the wheels of your mind to start turning.
He was an American-born son of a pastor.
He learned science and math. It was paint he would master.

He earned a three-year appointment to study in Britain.
During that time many a letter was written.
He studied. He painted. He made anti-Federalist rants.
He impressed. His Herculean effort had a political stance.
His London days ended… Now on to a full-time position
As a painter of portraits being paid on commission.
He moved to Washington D.C. as part of this plan.
He was hired by the famous. He knew many a great man.

One ill-fated day in D.C. he was grief-stricken
To learn of a passing which makes our puzzle-plot thicken
For his focus now changed. This artist-turned-inventor
With a nothing-can-stop-me attitude now put front and center
Better communications and so our man-of-the-hour
Set to his business with a new-found sense of power.
His ideas were sound and he worked without rest.
Yet it took years to secure a government-sponsored test

Of his creation. The powers-that-be eventually agreed
To a state-funded never-before-seen test which indeed
Would prove the long-distance device he contrived
Worked. The sink-or-swim moment had finally arrived
And this jack-of-all-trades with inventing at heart
Made a technological breakthrough thought state-of-the-art
Which put this now-famous man at the top of his field.
With four simple words his legacy was sealed.

Many would-be competitors took him to court.
He argued his patent. He won public support.
He travelled the world to much-deserved approbation.
His contributions helped develop our nation.
Vis-à-vis all the others our mystery-man we recall
As an engineering-genius who left something for us all.
Now our story has ended so the cache should be nigh.
To see if your puzzle-solving skills are still spry

Take a deep breath… Think hard and piece it all together.
You can make the find now. You can wait for rainy-day weather.
This cache is meant both to challenge and teach.
The final container might be difficult to reach.
Stay focused. Be patient. Let self-doubt be over.
Use a phone-a-friend if it helps or a four-leaf clover
For luck. Clues are given. To get the a-ha moment you need
Some puzzling prowess. With that I wish you Geo-godspeed.