Thomas Alva Edison, the man behind the electric bulb has been ... In England, inventor Joseph Swan developed a similar bulb ...

they filed a Canadian patent for a similar bulb. Ultimately, they failed to commercialize it, but they sold their patent to Thomas Edison. Edison got serious about electric lighting in 1878.

Edison applied for a patent for the device in December ... selecting carbonized bamboo for his first commercial electric light bulb. Adapted for the internet from “Thomas Edison, Chemist” produced by ...