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In wooded areas bark was cut from trees to expose the lighter wood underneath. Sometime on clear nights, the moon and starlight were strong enough to navigate at night and give some light. -
Gave a weak light, smoked, and gave off foul odors. They were also dangerous and required a lot of attention. Wealthy class used beeswax candles. The middle class used cheap tallow candles. The poor used rushlights, makeshift candles made from reeds dipped in animal or vegetable fat and ignited, which burned for a short time. -
Sir Humphry Davy, an English physician, created the first electric light. -
Frederick de Moleyns received the first patent for an incandescent lamp in England. The lamp used a glass bulb. But this lamp was not efficient enough for commercial use. The vacuum's poor design caused the bulb to darken at the top and block light output, and the platinum filaments were too expensive. -
Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans filed a patent for an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament in Canada and the United States. The light bulbs, they worked good but sold poorly. -
Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov, a Russian electrical engineer and inventor, created the first practical arc lamp known as the "Yablochkov Candle. Arc lamps were installed on many streets in the United States and Europe. They produced an intense, bright light that was good for streets and outdoor spaces. -
Gas lighting replaced candles and oil lamps. Gas lamps produced a brighter light. They also cost 75 percent less than candles or oil lamps, and were easier and safer to operate. -
CFLs were big and bulky, and did not fit in many light fixtures. They light bulbs also emitted a low light and performed inconsistently. -
Shuji Nakamura developed the first bright blue light-emitting diode, the last component needed to create bright white LED light. Scientist experimented with blue, red, and green diodes by coating them with phosphors to make them appear white. -
During the early 2000s, the first LED light bulbs hit the market