On October 21, 1879, Thomas Alva Edison revolutionized our way of life with the invention of the first practical incandescent electric lamp. Although the arc light was already prominent in department stores and lighting streets, Edison's invention created a future bright with possibility and future electric technologies. Incandescent lamps use electricity to heat a thin strip of material known as filament. Edison´s lamp featured filaments, composed of a carbonized type of cardboard, known as Bristol board. These carbon filaments failed to burn because Edison emptied the electric lamps of air with vacuum pumps.

The first public demonstration of the light bulb Edison held on the New Year's Eve of December 31, 1879. Approximately 3,000 people experienced the 40 lamps that were displayed in Menlo Park, New Jersey, the location of his laboratory, which was the first industrial research laboratory in the United States. The research laboratory functioned as a business and "invention factory" with an international team of workers that assisted Edison with his ideas 24 hours a day. Shortly thereafter, the press dubbed Edison, ´The Wizard of Menlo Park.´ He continued the success of this electricity demonstration with another in the financial district of Manhattan. Edison had created an entire system that made and distributed electricity with switches, fuses, electric meters, dynamos, regulators and distribution lines. On September 6, 1882, he erected a generating station on Pearl Street that supplied electricity to customers, confirmed the practicality of a centralized system and demonstrated the commercial viability of the electric system. Edison´s inventions induced vast recognition as well as imitations.

By 1890, 35 U.S. corporations manufactured electric lamps. Three companies- Westinghouse, Thomson-Houston and Edison-served an estimated 1,600 central stations throughout the United States. In 1892, the Edison General Electric Company merged with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form the General Electric Company.

Edison has 1,093 patents issued to him, more than any other person in U.S. history. Thomas Alva Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. At 84 years old, he died on October 18, 1931 and left a legacy of electrified cities around the world.

Working Toward the Light Bulb

1876

Thomas Edison leaves his Newark, N.J., factory to set up a laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J., which would be the site of his success.

SEPTEMBER 1877

Edison conducts experiments with electric arc lights and his first experiments with incandescent electric lighting.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1878

Edison visits a shop in Connecticut to see electric light apparatus with his colleagues.

SEPTEMBER 13 TO 16, 1878

He announces he's solved the problem of incandescent electric lighting.

OCTOBER 1878

Several of New York's leading financial figures joined Edison to create the Edison Electric Light Co., the predecessor of today's General Electric Co.

JANUARY 1879

The first high-resistance incandescent light is built, but burns only for a few hours, too short for Edison to call a success.

AUGUST 1879

Edison hires a glassblower to begin developing improved vacuum pumps, a necessary tool in his light bulb experiments.

OCTOBER 7, 1879

Edison writes in his journal that filaments are lasting nearly two hours.

OCTOBER 22, 1879

Using carbonized thread, Edison reports more than 13 hours of light.

DECEMBER 31, 1879

Edison conducts the first public demonstration of his incandescent lighting system at Menlo Park, N.J.