So, who invented the light bulb?
Most
people would answer little Tommy Edison, but they would
be wrong.
In
fact, they were being used as electric lights for more
than 50 years prior to his patent date.
In
addition, Edison was not the first to patent the modern
design of the light bulb.
It
seems that an inventor named Joseph Swan demonstrated
the same carbon filament light bulb in Newcastle at
least ten months prior to Edison's announcement. In
addition, Swan received a British patent in 1878 for
the same bulb that Edison patented in the U. S. in 1879.
Did
Edison know about Swan's work, or did they simply work
independently and arrive at the same conclusion? There
is no question that Edison had seen a Scientific American
article on Swan's preliminary work with carbon filament
electric lighting. But Swan's work had not been perfected
at this point, so Edison may have arrived at his invention
by improving on Swan's preliminary designs.
Eventually,
Edison was the one making the big $$$ off this invention
and Swan was rightfully upset with this situation.
So,
if you were in Swan's boots, what would you do?
Sue
the pants off of Edison, and that is exactly what Swan
did.
Edison
lost in the British courts for infringement of Swan's
patent. As part of the settlement, Edison was forced
to take Swan in as a partner in his British electric
works. The company was called the Edison and Swan
United Electric Company. Eventually, Edison
acquired all of Swan's interest in the company.
In
the United States, Edison didn't have the chance to
put up a fight. The U.S. Patent Office had ruled on
October 8, 1883 that Edison's patents were based on
the prior art of a man named William Sawyer and were
invalid. In addition, Swan had already sold his U.S.
patent rights to the Brush Electric Company in June
of 1882.
So
why does Edison get all the credit for the invention
of the light bulb?
Very
simple, he owned the power company - what was to eventually
become General Electric.
After
all, what use is a light bulb without electricity? Edison
set up a system of power distribution in New York City.
He used the DC (direct current) system, which is no
longer used. |
