Light Fantastic 

Decorative Lighting Supplies

12 Cambridge Street, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 1JL, United Kingdom

Telephone: 01480 407872    Fax: 01480 219343

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. 

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