Joseph Swan
British physicist and inventor (1828-1914) · Scientists · Died at 85
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan was an English physicist, chemist, and inventor. He is known as an independent early developer of a successful incandescent light bulb, and is responsible for developing the first use of incandescent lights used to illuminate homes and public buildings, including the Savoy Theatre, London, in...
Joseph Swan is read about 144 times a day, in 36 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
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Media & music
Photos 7
Carbon filament lamp (E27 socket, 220 volts, approx. 30 watts, left side: running with 100 volts)
Plaque at 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle, where Swan publicly demonstrated the electric light bulb in 1879
Plaque at Underhill, Gateshead commemorating Swan's invention and Underhill as the first house in the world to have electric lighting installed
Plaque at the Savoy in London noting it as the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity in 1881
Portrait of Swan in his laboratory (pre 1907), signed by Swan in 1910
Edison & Swan United Electric Light Company, otherwise known as "Ediswan"Awards
About this person
He is known as an independent early developer of a successful incandescent light bulb, and is responsible for developing the first use of incandescent lights used to illuminate homes and public buildings, including the Savoy Theatre, London, in 1881.
