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Sir Joseph Wilson Swan ( October 31, 1828 - May 27, 1914) was a physicist and chemist born in Sunderland, England

His contributions to the field of photography included bromide paper, and the carbon process for printing. Artificial cellulose thread for making artificial silk, was another of his inventions, as was the cellular lead plate storage battery.

However he is most famous for the development of the light bulb. In 1850 the British pioneer began working with carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb. By 1860 he was able to demonstrate a working device, and obtained a UK patent covering a partial vacuum, carbon filament incandescent lamp but lack of an adequate supply of electricity resulted in a short lifetime for the bulb and inefficient light. By the mid- 1870s better pumps became available, and Swan returned to his experiments.

Swan received a British patent for his device in 1878, about a year before EdisonThomas Alva Edison ( February 11, 1847 October 18, 1931) was an inventor and businessman who developed many important devices. The Wizard of Menlo Park was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention.. Swan had reported success to the Newcastle Chemical Society and at a lecture in NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne often called just Newcastle is a city in North East England in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The City has a relatively small population of around 259,000 ( 2001 census). However, the Metropolitan Boroughs of North Tyneside in February 1879Events January January 11 Anglo-Zulu War begins January 22 Zulu troops massacre British troops at the Battle of Isandlwana. At Rorke's Drift, outnumbered British soldiers drive the attackers away after hours of fighting. February February 12 At New York C he demonstrated a working lamp that utilized a carbonAlternative meaning: Carbon (computing Carbon is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol C and atomic number 6. An abundant nonmetallic, tetravalent element, carbon has several allotropic forms: diamonds (hardest known mineral). Bindi fibre filament. The most significant feature of Swan's lamp was that there was little residual oxygenOxygen is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol O and atomic number 8. The element is very common, found not only on Earth but throughout the universe. Molecular oxygen (O, often called free oxygen on Earth is thermodynamically un in the vacuum tube to ignite the filament, thus allowing the filament to glow almost white-hot without catching fire. From this year he began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks in England and by 1881Events January 16- 24 ? Siege of Geok Tepe ? Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans January 25 Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company February 5 Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated. February 13 First issu he had started his own company, and The Swan Electric Light Company was producing the first commercial lamps. Later Swan teamed up with Edison for the commercial exploitation, using the trade mark "Edi-Swan".