Thomas Edison used this carbon-filament bulb in the first public demonstration of his most famous invention—the light bulb, the first practical electric incandescent lamp. The light bulb creates light ...

Thomas Edison had a hand in inventing revolutionary devices such as the movie camera, microphone, and phonograph. But none has been more famous than his improvements to the light bulb, which ...

Electric lights already existed on a streetlight scale when, on this day in 1879, Edison tested the one he’s famous for. Though he didn’t come up with the whole concept, his light bulb was the ...

In 1878, Thomas Edison — already an internationally famous inventor in his early 30s, set out to create an incandescent light bulb that provided enough light to illuminate a home but would last ...

Illustration by Meilan Solly / Background via Library of Congress In the autumn of 1878, Thomas Alva Edison had a problem. He hadn’t invented the light bulb—yet. Or, to put it more precisely ...