We often think that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

While he certainly was the first to make it a commercial success, the invention took almost a century to “come to light.”

The story begins long before household electricity.

In 1800, an Italian scientist named Volta created the first primitive battery. And one of the first things he did was connect copper wire to it, which glowed faintly.

Two years later, a different inventor ran current from a battery through carbon rods to create the first industrial bulb. But it was very bright, short lived, and not suited to household use.

More scientists, over more decades, improved filaments and used a vacuum to remove oxygen, or filled the bulb with nitrogen to extend the filament’s life.

Finally, in the late 1870’s, Edison bought a Canadian patent and formed a light bulb company.

He and his workers tested more than 9,000 filament designs. Their first successful bulbs used carbonized bamboo.

But they ultimately discovered that the rare metal tungsten, with its high melting point and electrical resistance, was the best choice.

At first, Edison’s technology couldn’t make tungsten thin enough. Later advancements wound 6 feet of ultrathin wire down to a 1-inch-long filament. They mounted it on a glass support, and the commercial bulb was born.

This design lasted nearly unchanged for over a century, only now being replaced by more efficient designs which themselves have taken more than 50 years to come to market.