Joseph Swan

Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (31 October 1828–27 May 1914) was an English physicist and chemist who was well known because he created the incandescent light bulb, about a year before Thomas Edison. His house was the first in the world to be lit by electric light bulbs.

Joseph Wilson Swan
Photograph of Swan, c.1900
Born	(1828-10-31)October 31, 1828 Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland, England
Died	May 27, 1914(1914-05-27) (aged 85) Warlingham, England
Nationality	British
Known for	incandescent light bulb
Scientific career
Fields	physics chemistry

In 1904, Swan was knighted, awarded the Royal Society's Hughes Medal, and was made an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society. He had already received the highest award in France, the Légion d'honneur, when he visited an international exhibition in Paris in 1881. The exhibition included exhibits of his inventions, and the city was lit with electric light, thanks to Swan's invention.

Joseph Swan Media

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  Carbon filament lamp (E27 socket, 220 volts, approx. 30 watts, left side: running with 100 volts)

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  Plaque at 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle where Swan publicly demonstrated the electric light bulb in 1879

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  Plaque at Underhill, Gateshead commemorating Swan's invention and Underhill as the first house in the world to have electric lighting installed

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  Plaque at the Savoy in London noting it as the first public building to be lit entirely by electricity in 1881