Lighting Inventors

This time line highlights the inventors and many breakthroughs which made the light bulb possible



1809Humphry Davy invented the first electric light. He used wires and battery and attached a charcoal strip between the other ends of the wires. The charged carbon glowed making the first arc lamp.

1835

James Bowman Lindsey developed a prototype light bulb.

1878

Joseph Swan invented a electric light bulb that lasted up to 13.5 hours.

1879

Thomas Edison invented a carbon filament that burned for forty hours.

1910


William David Coolidge invented a cheaper and better version using tungsten filaments.