Drawing of the Incandescent Light Bulb by Thomas Edison
Find further background information and a transcript of this patent on the list of 100 Milestone Documents of American history on www.ourdocuments.gov.
Additional Details from our Exhibits and Publications:
The incandescent light bulb
On January 27, 1880, The Patent Office granted Thomas Edison’s patent for the “electric-lamp.” His patent was an improvement on electric lamps, not the invention of them, but because of Edison’s design changes and the materials he used—such as a carbon filament—his patent allowed for an electric lamp that was reliable, safe, and practical.
Text adapted from “Teaching with Documents : OurDocuments.gov” in the November/December 2002 National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) publication Social Education.
JavaScript & Flash™ Required
Viewing this document requires both JavaScript and Flash™ Player 10 or higher.
Make sure that JavaScript is enabled, or select Get Flash below to get the current Flash plugin.
A minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 is recommended.
To access this document off-line, you can print this document.
