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Joseph Swan’s Lightbulb
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan was an English physicist and chemist, most famous for the development of the lightbulb. He was born 31 October 1828, at Pallion Hall in Sunderland where he served an apprenticeship as a pharmacist.
Thomas Edison is often the one credited with inventing the lightbulb, but Swan and Edison both made similar advances at about the same time, though to begin with they were completely independent of each other.
In 1879 Swan began installing lightbulbs in homes and landmarks across England. In 1880, he gave the world's first large-scale public exhibition of electric lamps in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1881 he had started his own company, The Swan Electric Light Company, and started commercial production. Later, Swan teamed up with Edison for the commercial exploitation of the lightbulb, using the trademark Edi-Swan.
Swan was knighted in 1904. By the time he died on 27 May,1914, a notable proportion of the country was lit by electric light. His development of the material for filament led to the creation of manmade fibres and his idea of creating light in a vacuum eventually led to the invention of the cathode ray tube, and the TV.
Presenter Mohini Sule says: "[This is] the culmination of over 30 years of experimentation and hard work."
Where can it be found? At the Discovery Museum, Newcastle.
John Clayson, curator, says: "He saw science as his primary interest, not business."
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