But you are using one of the greatest inventions ever made. The light bulb led to new energy breakthroughs — from power plants and electric transmission lines to home appliances and electric motors.

And in 1903, Willis R. Whitney invented a treatment for these filaments that allowed them to burn bright without darkening the insides of their glass bulbs, according to the Smithsonian Institution.

But although these two inventors created the first commercially successful light bulb in 1879, their glory rested on the shoulders of many others before them. It was Italian inventor Alessandro ...

This first commercial installation, a spectacular achievement, featured no bulbs manufactured by Thomas Edison, although he had proudly announced his invention of the light bulb only a few months ...

An early sketch of a light bulb made by Thomas Edison on February 13, 1880. The year before, the inventor had demonstrated his long-lasting bulb before a crowd of hundreds at his Menlo Park ...