[Light Bulb] Thomas Edison developed a practical light bulb toward the end of 1879. In 1880 he designed this version, the first to have all the essential features of a modern light bulb--an incandescent filament in an evacuated glass bulb with a screw base.

Creating a successful filament was the most critical factor. For it to be practical, it had to glow when an electric current passed through it, possess high electrical resistance, and last a long time.

Courtesy of the National Museum of American History, gift of the Department of Engineering, Princeton University, 1961.

Light Bulb, 1880, invented by Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

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