What You Didn't Know: Lightbulb

What You Didn't Know
Lightbulb

When you say light bulbs the first thing Americans think is Thomas Edison. The American school system taught us that Thomas Edison was the inventor of the light bulb. This is far from the truth. I’m sure you heard of the riddle, “How many men does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Well, all joking aside, how many men did it take to invent a light bulb? It took over 25 men to contribute to what we call the light bulb. Starting in 1761, Ebenezer Kinnersley is noted for being the first to create an invention for artificial light. He named it the electric fire. There were over twenty men that came before Thomas Edison, whom are credited for creating their own version of a light bulb. Some of these inventors who never receive their proper credit include: Humphry Davy, James Bowman Lindsay, Marcellin Jobard, Warren De la Rue, Frederick de Moleyns, John W. Starr, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, and many more. The main problem with many of these inventions was the failure to make them last for a long amount of time. Most of these inventions lasted no longer than an hour. Thomas Edison’s invention was the first to last 3-5 hours at a time. Lewis Howard Latimer is noted for creating the first light bulb to last for years as oppose to hours or days. Latimer’s version would blacken over some time causing one to have to replace the light bulb before it went out. Willis R. Whitney, the founder of General Electric Company, was the first to create a long-lasting light bulb that would not blacken. The light bulbs you use today is not Thomas Edison’s version. In fact, no one alive today has had the pleasure in using Thomas Edison’s light bulb. By the late 1800s/early 1900s, Thomas Edison’s light bulb was obsolete. Up until the 1930s there were inventors all over the world creating their version of a light bulb. Some include: William D. Coolidge, Irving Langmuir, and Burnie Lee Benbow. All in all, there are over 25 men who have contributed to the invention of the light bulb, many before and many after Thomas Edison. So, the next time you think about doing something amazing like inventing something illuminating, remember it takes teamwork to make the dream work.

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