January 27, 1880 - Thomas Alva Edison patents the incandescent lamp

Although Thomas Alva Edison is credited with inventing the incandescent lamp, he only perfected it. After many attempts, he succeeded in making a filament, which was not made of metal but of carbonised bamboo, incandescent without melting. Thus, on 21 October 1879, he succeeded in making his first light bulb glow for 40 hours at a time. His invention had a major impact on industry.

On 27 January 1880, Edison filed a patent for ‘an electric lamp for giving light by incandescence’ (U.S. No. 223898) and, in the same year, partnered with J.P. Morgan to found General Electric Company.

Furthermore, in the course of developing the light bulb, one of Edison's assistants discovered the flow of energy from one electrode to the other in what later became known as the ‘Edison Effect’ and which became the fundamental principle of the electronic tube, which in turn was the basis of the electronics industry.

If you want to know more about this scientist, click on the following link: Thomas Alva Edison