Thomas Edison displayed the first light bulb with a long operating life in October 1879. This was after a lengthy series of experiments that ran into hundreds, according to urban legend. However, he produced a number of inferior prototypes along the way by his own admission. Smithsonian Magazine believes he showed several of these attempts to the media under false pretenses in the autumn of 1878. This raises the question, was Edison’s first light bulb in the public domain a fraud?
Edison’s Boasting Had Put Him Out on a Limb
By the autumn of 1878 Edison had still not invented a light bulb that burned for more than a few minutes, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Apparently he had not discovered how to regulate the temperature of the internal filament yet.
Meanwhile, Edison knew he was running of time. Many other pioneers were working on projects to harness electricity in North America and Europe. Sooner or later someone else would come up with a working light bulb, he knew. Time was of the essence. But there was even more pressure on the horizon.
This was because Edison had made a startling claim in September 1878, again according to Smithsonian Magazine. This was to the effect he already had an incandescent light bulb to show. “I have it now,” he boasted. “Everybody will wonder why they have never thought of it, it is so simple.”
Edison’s First Light Bulb Shown to Media
The Smithsonian posted the following startling allegation on June 27, 2023:
“Thomas Edison told journalists they would each receive a brief, private demonstration of the new light bulb’s capacities. They could marvel at what he had achieved before he swiftly ushered them away. Ensuring they’d be out of the room long before the bulb burned out.”
Edison was a showman and his plan worked. The mesmerized media praised his invention with comments like, “bright, cold and beautiful … you could trace the veins in your hands and the spots and lines upon your fingernails by its brightness … there was nothing irritating to the eye.”
So do you think that Edison’s first light bulb was a fraud? Smithsonian Magazine cites him saying his bulb, “would burn forever, almost”. Our jury is out. However, we have heard that Edison once said “I like a hustler” when asked which historical figure he would like to meet most.
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