Who invented the light bulb?


Growing up we are taught that Thomas Edison was the inventor of the famous light bulb, but what if someone told you it was actually invented 40 years before Edison got his hands on it? Researchers argue that Edison is only credited for the invention of the light bulb because he was the one to make it a commercial success, but he was not the one who invented it. Edison's charisma and positive attitude toward the patent made it possible for him to receive all the credit. He was the one who really took it and ran with it and made it what it is today, so why shouldn't he get credit? Well I say because he did not invent the legit first light bulb, he should not be credited as the inventor. Humphrey Davy invented the first ever light bulb, and he really was the one with the bright idea. 

Although, we can't use Davy's light bulb today, it was Davy who first thought of using chemical bases and other conductive material in order to ignite a light. He created an arc lamp, it was too bright for a home or work space, but he was the one who got the ball rolling for the later inventors. He thought of the idea to invent a standing light that illuminates more than 1 square foot of space at a time. Later on, many more inventors were trying to improve it and they did this by using previous methods and information from older inventors. After Davy, Frederick DeMoleyns thought of to enclose the fixture in a glass bulb. Soon enough, Edison's time came around and his main challenge was the cost effectiveness of the materials, and while he was finding the solution and issuing his patent, chemist Joseph Swan was doing the exact same thing. The only problem was that Swan's product later came to prove that it's light source would run out quickly, therefore Edison gets the win. 

There was a legal trial concerning the patents, but they both agreed to work together in a lighting company, that would soon be the world’s largest manufacturers of light bulbs. This all in all made Edison the face of the light bulb. If you look it up on the internet, Joseph Swan is listed as well, but in schools and in books all you see in Edison's name. But if you look at the big picture, all Edison did was improve it; made it functional for the public. You can compare this to the creation of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell is credited as the inventor of the telephone but really an Italian immigrant was the first one to come up with the idea of a talking telephone. Bell was only credited because he won the patent against someone who was also issuing a patent at the same time. 

Thomas Edison was no doubt a great inventor, but he only is credited because he made the best version of it, and in my eyes I see that as just piggybacking off someone's success or intelligence. Nonetheless, I am grateful for this invention, and everyone who was apart of its creation, but I believe that the other hard working inventors should be recognized because this isn't something we as humans rarely use. This bright idea led to many others, and even though Edison is forever going to be the face of it, he still did not invent it.

Sources:
“Many Minds Produced The Light That Illuminated America.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/03/21/why-thomas-edison-isnt-the-inventor-of-the-light-bulb.

 Ripley, et al. “Thomas Edison Did Not Invent The Light Bulb.” Ripley's Believe It or Not!, 5 Nov. 2018, www.ripleys.com/weird-news/or-not-thomas-edison-light-bulb/.

 “Who Invented the Light Bulb?” LiveScience, Purch, www.livescience.com/43424-who-invented-the-light-bulb.html

 “Who Is Credited with Inventing the Telephone?” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/who-is-credited-with-inventing-the-telephone/.

 “Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?” BBC Science Focus Magazine, www.sciencefocus.com/science/who-really-invented-the-light-bulb/.

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