Timeline Description: Electricity today is an expected commodity in many countries around the world, but it wasn't always that way. The electric light bulb took a long journey before reaching the efficiency and reliability it has today.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1803 | The first Arc Lamp Scientists had been working on an electric lamp for several years. A man named Humphry Davy created a lamp using volts from a battery, which produced light greater than one thousand candles. |
| 1835 | A light bulb James Bowman Lindsay was the first person to contain an electrical charge inside of a glass bulb. He proudly showed his creation to others, though it was very unreliable at the time. |
| 1841 | Light up the night Using Humphry Davy's Arc Lamp, Paris set a new record. They became the first city to attempt lighting their streets with electric street lamps. |
| 1856 | The Geissler tube Heinrich Geissler, a glassblower by trade, created a special tube to use with electricity. It could contain an electric charge, and it would pave the way for neon and other types of lighting. |
| 1879 | Thomas Edison's designs Thomas Edison devoted his adult life to working with electricity. He patented a lamp in 1879, then a 16-watt light bulb in 1880. |
| 1893 | Nikola Tesla Mr. Tesla had worked closely with Thomas Edison before branching out on his own. He worked on creating a wireless electrical lamp. |
| 1910 | Neon lighting Paris continued setting the stage for the newest designs in electrical lighting. They demonstrated the first neon lighting, which was created by Georges Claude, at the Paris Motor Show. |
| 1926 | Fluorescent lighting A man named Edmund Germer created a lamp for fluorescent lighting. This new type of lighting would grow in popularity. |
| 1939 | The World Fair At New York's World Fair, companies demonstrated the efficiency of the fluorescent light bulb. With WWII upon them, the world |
| 1981 | Energy saving lighting The Philips Company created a fluorescent energy saving lamp. It used an integrated conventional ballast, but it was expensive for consumers to purchase. |
| 1991 | Longer lasting bulbs When Edison patented his 16-watt bulb, it could last for 1500 hours. Philips created a new fluorescent bulb that could last up to 60,000 hours and be produced at a reasonable price. |
| 1995 | The LED light A man named Shuji Nakamura created a new type of lighting. Using blue and white LED, or light-emitting diodes, he started a revolution of LED lighting. |
| 2000 | LED's pushed forward The Energy department recognized the need for greater efficiency in electric lighting. They created a device that would package LED's together to generate better lighting. |
| 2008 | The L Prize Competition The Energy Department decided to hold a contest for companies to create more efficient energy. Philips won the competition in 2011 with their affordable LED bulb. |
| 2012 | Energy savings As of 2012, more than 49 million LED bulbs were being used across America. This saved around $675 million in energy costs. |