360Edison's light bulb brings practical electric light
In late 1879, Thomas Edison's team in Menlo Park, New Jersey, tested a light bulb with a carbon filament that glowed for many hours. In England, Joseph Swan had developed a similar lamp. Edison also built power stations to supply electricity, and electric light soon replaced gas and candles.
Inventors had made electric lights before, but they burned out quickly or were too bright for homes. Thomas Edison set out to make a long-lasting, affordable bulb.
At his laboratory in Menlo Park, his team tested thousands of materials. In October 1879, a bulb with a carbonised cotton thread filament glowed for more than 13 hours. Edison gave a public demonstration on New Year's Eve 1879, lighting up the laboratory and its street.
In England, Joseph Swan had been working on a similar carbon-filament lamp and demonstrated it in 1878 and 1879. The two later combined their British businesses.
Edison understood that bulbs needed a whole system. In 1882 his company opened the Pearl Street Station in New York, one of the first central power stations, supplying electricity to customers. Electric light made streets safer, extended working hours and changed daily life.
- 1878–79
- Swan demonstrates his lamp in England
- October 1879
- Edison's carbon-filament bulb lasts 13 hours
- 31 December 1879
- Public demonstration at Menlo Park
- 1882
- Pearl Street power station opens
Sources: Smithsonian · Thomas Edison National Historical Park · Science Museum.