swancollection

Joseph Swan in his Laboratory

from North East Museums

• John keys said:

  Sound chap This Mr Swan...

• Timothy Jones said:

  "... Swan's demonstration of the light bulb at a lecture in Newcastle upon Tyne on 18 December 1878, before its invention by the American Thomas Edison ..." Now consider the idiocy of this. Swan demonstrated the light bulb, so he invented it. OK so the filament was a bit naff, and it was hard to achieve a good vacuum. Thomas Edison cannot have invented it AFTER Swan had already demonstrated it. Give Edison the credit for improving it, and creating a production line for its manufacture, but please, do not fall into that Transatlantic error of thinking Edison invented the light bulb. He did not.

• Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums said:

  Timothy Jones thanks. We've reworded the caption - we certainly don't believe it was Edison who invented the lightbulb!