The History of Lighting

Early Lamps
Lamps were first created around 70,000 BC. Humans learned to use naturally abundant materials such as a hollow rock, shells, horns and other objects to act as a containment unit for burning fuels. These lamps were filled with fuels like moss or dried grasses etc. that were soaked with animal fat and ignited. Early man then began to develop there own lamps with handmade potteries, alabaster, and metal. With time he discovered he could control the amount of time a lamp burned by adding wicks

Gas Lights
In 1792, the first commercial use of gas lighting began when William Murdoch used coal gas for lighting his house in Redruth, Cornwall. German inventor Freidrich Winzer (Winsor) was the first person to patent coal gas lighting in 1804 and a “thermolampe” using gas distilled from wood was patented in 1799. David Melville received the first U.S. gas light patent in 1810.

Oil Burning Lamps
Early lighting fuels consisted of olive oil, beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil, nut oil, and similar substances. These were the most commonly used fuels until the late 18th century. In 1859, drilling for petroleum oil began and the kerosene (a petroleum derivative) lamp grew popular, first introduced in 1853 in Germany. During this time, a major break through in lamp technology happen with the invention of the central burner. What made this such a an important invention was, the fuel source was now tightly enclosed in metal. This was coupled with an a adjustable metal tube that designed to control the intensity of the fuel burning and amount of light it produced. During this time, inventors also learned that by adding small glass enclosures and chimneys to lamps, protected the flame from the elements and controlled the amount of air flow the flame.

Timeline of Electrical Lighting
Sir Humphrey Davy of England invented the first electric carbon arc lamp in 1801. A carbon arc lamp works by hooking two carbon rods to a source of electricity. With the other ends of the rods spaced at the right distance, electrical current will flow through an “arc” of vaporizing carbon creating an intense white light. All arc lamps use current running through different kinds of gas plasma.

A.E. Becquerel of France theorized about the fluorescent lamp in 1857. Low pressure arc lights use a big tube of low pressure gas plasma and include: fluorescent lights and neon signs.

Sir Joseph Swann of England and Thomas Edison both invented the first electric incandescent lamps around the 1870s.

Thomas A. Edison of the United States invented the first commercially successful incandescent lamp around 1879. Incandescent lamps are what we regularly use in our homes.

Charles F. Brush of the United States invented the carbon arc street lamp in 1879.

American, Peter Cooper Hewitt patented the mercury vapor lamp in 1901. This was an arc lamp that used mercury vapor enclosed in glass bulb. Mercury vapor lamps are the forerunners to fluorescent lamps. High pressure arc lights use a small bulb of high pressure gas and include: mercury vapor lamps, high pressure sodium arc lamps, and metal halide arc lamps.

Georges Claude of France invented the neon lamp in 1911.

American, Irving Langmuir invented the electric gas-filled incandescent lamp in 1915.

Friedrich Meyer, Hans Spanner, and Edmund Germer patented a fluorescent lamp in 1927. One difference between mercury vapor and fluorescent lamps is that fluorescent bulbs are coated on the inside to increase efficiency. At first beryllium was used as a coating however, beryllium was too toxic and was replaced with safer florescent chemicals.

In 1962, General Electric patented an arc lamp called a “Multi Vapor Metal Halide” lamp.