CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2004--What would Thomas Edison think of incandescent lights that last 750 hours or filter out harsh colors of the spectrum to provide a purer, cleaner light? Little did Edison know his light bulb that lasted only 40 hours would grow into products like GE Reveal(R) bulbs that have sold over 170 million bulbs since their introduction in 2001.
GE and Thomas Edison share a history together. GE had its beginnings with the merger of the Edison Electric Company with the Thompson-Houston Company. Both Edison and GE have shared a passion for innovative lighting products.
The practical incandescent, electric light bulb is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Contrary to popular belief, Edison didn't invent the light bulb, but rather he improved upon it. In 1879, using lower current electricity, a small, carbonized filament, and an improved vacuum inside the globe, he was able to produce a reliable long-lasting source of light. On October 21, 1879, the first commercially practical incandescent lamp completed a 40-hour duration test at Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory in New Jersey.
Edison's eventual achievement was inventing not only an incandescent electric light, but also an electric lighting system that contained all the elements necessary to make the incandescent light, practical, safe and economical.
In 1880, Edison was granted his main lamp patent, no. 223,898, on January 27th, covering the fundamental features of the carbon filament lamp. Edison adopted carbonized bamboo filaments for his lamps and increased their rated life to 600 hours. In 1890, Edison established the first incandescent lamp factory at Menlo Park. In 1892 the General Electric Company was formed with the merging of the Edison General
Electric Company and the Thomson-Houston Company.
GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than 100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control. General Electric (NYSE:GE) brings imagination to work, selling products under the Monogram(R), Profile(TM), GE(R), Hotpoint(R), SmartWater(TM), and Reveal(R) consumer brands, and Entellisys(TM) industrial brand. For more information about GE Consumer & Industrial, consumers can visit the company's web site at www.geconsumerandindustrial.com.
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CONTACT: GE Consumer & Industrial
Kim Freeman, 502-452-7819