Edison "New Year's Eve" Lamp
Object Details
- Date made
- 1879
- used date
- 1879-12-31
- user
- Edison, Thomas Alva
- maker
- Edison, Thomas Alva
- Description
- Thomas Edison used this carbon-filament bulb in the first public demonstration of his most famous invention, the first practical electric incandescent lamp, which took place at his Menlo Park, New Jersey, laboratory on New Year's Eve, 1879.
- As the quintessential American inventor-hero, Edison personified the ideal of the hardworking self-made man. He received a record 1,093 patents and became a skilled entrepreneur. Though occasionally unsuccessful, Edison and his team developed many practical devices in his "invention factory," and fostered faith in technological progress.
- Place Made
- United States: New Jersey, Edison, Menlo Park
- used
- United States: New Jersey, Edison, Menlo Park
- United States: New Jersey
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Electricity
- Energy & Power
- Engineering, Building, and Architecture
- Work
- Industry & Manufacturing
- American Enterprise
- Domestic Furnishings
- Artifact Walls exhibit
- Exhibition
- American Enterprise
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Related Publication
- Kendrick, Kathleen M. and Peter C. Liebhold. Smithsonian Treasures of American History
- Sewer, Andy; Allison, David; Liebhold, Peter; Davis, Nancy; Franz, Kathleen G.. American Enterprise: A History of Business in America
- Credit Line
- from General Electric Co.
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- ID Number
- EM.181797
- catalog number
- 181797
- accession number
- 33407
- Object Name
- light bulb
- incandescent lamp
- Other Terms
- light bulb; Lighting Devices; No Base; Horseshoe; Carbon
- Physical Description
- carbon (overall material)
- glass (overall material)
- platinum (overall material)
- copper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 6 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in; 16.51 cm x 6.985 cm
- Record ID
- nmah_704361