The Invention of Electric Lighting – Electricity & Alternative Energy – Alberta’s Energy Heritage

As scientists’ understanding of electricity and its applications grew, the most visible impact on human society was in urban lighting. At the end of the eighteenth century, the vast majority of light was produced by lanterns that burned some form of oil—most commonly derived from olives, fish, sesame seeds, nuts or whales. In the 1810s and 1820s, major urban centres in Europe and the United States began to adopt street lighting powered by coal gas. Gas lighting was relatively cheap and efficient, but it gave off a foul odour and was not particularly well suited for indoor lighting. Theatres that adopted coal gas lighting for their venues often found patrons complaining about light-headedness, due to the smell of the burning gas and the amount of oxygen it consumed. The need for a safer alternative for street, residential and commercial lighting was urgent, and in the view of some, electricity seemed to offer the best solution. What was needed was a way to create light from electricity that was both cost effective and safe.

The man who came up with the solution was the most famous inventor in American history, Thomas Edison. Edison was part scientist and part showman—he was intellectually curious as well as very skilled at promoting his inventions (and himself). He approached his work from the