| Incandescent and Discharge Lamps: 1900-1950 |
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| 1901: |
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Alfred Swan - modern glass-insulated base
Peter Cooper-Hewitt - low-pressure mercury vapor lamp |
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| 1902: |
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Werner Von Bolton & Otto Feuerlein - tantalum lamp |
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| 1903: |
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Herman Jaeger - early tipless design |
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| 1904: |
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Alexander Just & Franz Hanaman;
Hans Kuzel;
Fritz Blau & Hermann Remané - non-ductile tungsten lamps |
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| 1905: |
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Willis Whitney - "metallized" carbon lamp ("GEM") |
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| 1906: |
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Richard Küch - quartz, high-pressure mercury lamp |
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| 1907: |
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Georges Claude - neon tube |
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| 1910: |
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William Coolidge - ductile tungsten lamp |
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| 1911: |
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Irving Langmuir - gas-Filled, coiled-tungsten lamp |
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| 1920: |
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D. McFarlan Moore - neon glow lamp |
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| 1923: |
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Loris Mitchell & Arthur White - tipless lamp |
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| 1926: |
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Friedrich Meyer, Hans Spanner, and Edmund Germer
- experimental fluorescent lamp |
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| 1931: |
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Edison dies, October 18, West Orange, New Jersey |
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| 1932: |
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GEC - high-pressure mercury vapor lamp
Harold Edgerton - xenon flash lamp
Giles Holst - low-pressure sodium lamp |
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| 1938: |
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George Inman & Richard Thayer
- commercial fluorescent lamp |
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| 1942: |
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Alfred McKeag & Peter Ranby - halophosphors |
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| 1948: |
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Clifton Found & Wilford Winninghoff
- krypton-filled fluorescent lamp |
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| 1949: |
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Marvin Pipkin - silica "Q-Coat" ("Soft White" lamp) |
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| Tungsten Halogen Lamp: |
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| 1951: |
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General Electric begins work on quartz heat-lamp |
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mid
1953: |
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Elmer Fridrich begins research into visible-light quartz-lamp |
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late
1953: |
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Fridrich and Emmett Wiley succeed with experiments using iodine |
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early
1954: |
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Edward Zubler begins investigating lamp chemistry |
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| 1954: |
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"Quartzline" heat lamps are marketed by GE |
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early
1955: |
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Frederick Mosby begins engineering work on lamp |
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| 1956: |
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Pilot-production begins at Nela Park |
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| 1957: |
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Halogen used for wing-tip marker lamps on aircraft |
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late
1959: |
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GE announces 500 watt lamp for general lighting |
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| 1962: |
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Low-rate production of the lamp begins at Nela Park |
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| 1964: |
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New York World's Fair - GE halogen lamps demonstrated on Unisphere
Philips introduces bromine-cycle halogen lamp |
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| Metal Halide Lamp: |
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| 1912: |
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Charles Steinmetz patents a mercury lamp with halogens |
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| 1950: |
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Otto Neunhoeffer & Paul Schulz (Germany) patent a mercury lamp with halogens |
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| 1959: |
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H33 mercury vapor lamp announced by Osram (Germany)
Gilbert Reiling (US) begins work on improving the color of GE's mercury lamps |
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June
1960: |
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Reiling reports experimental success to GE Research Lab management |
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| August 1960: |
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Bernhard Kühl & Horst Krense (Germany) file for a metal halide lamp patent |
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| January 1961: |
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GE files for a U.S. patent on Reiling's lamp |
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| 1961: |
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Reiling and the metal halide project move (separately) from Schenectady to Nela Park |
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| February 1962: |
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U.S. Patent Office rejects Reiling's application citing prior art
GE publicly announces "Multi-Vapor®" lamp |
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July
1962: |
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GE "traverses" Patent Office rejection, claiming that Reiling's lamp differs from prior art |
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May
1964: |
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The Patent Office allows some claims in Reiling's application
Metal halide lamps are demonstrated at the New York World's Fair |
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| 1964: |
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Westinghouse adds "B.O.C.®" ("Better Output and Color") lamp
Sylvania announces "Metal-Arc®" lamp
West German Patent # 1,184,008 issued to Kühl & Krense |
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June
1965: |
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Reiling demonstrates lamps at the U.S. Patent Office |
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| February 1966: |
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U.S. Patent # 3,234,421 issued to Reiling |
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| 1966: |
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Sylvania announces "frameless" lamp |
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| High-Pressure Sodium Lamp: |
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| 1954: |
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Joseph Burke begins sintering experiments with alumina at GE Schenectady |
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| 1956: |
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Fluorescent lamp co-inventor George Inman sees Burke's work and initiates lamp-related research at GE Nela Park |
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early
1957: |
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Robert Coble adds magnesium to the alumina and achieves light transmission exceeding 90% |
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early
1958: |
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Pilot-plant to make Poly-Crystalline Alumina (PCA) at Nela Park |
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June
1958: |
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GE files for a patent on Coble's innovation |
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August
1959: |
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GE files for patents on Kurt Schmidt's, William Louden's, and Elmer Homonnay's work on lamps using PCA |
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December
1962: |
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GE announces the "Lucalox®" lamp |
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| 1964: |
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Sylvania announces the "Lumalux®" lamp |
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| 1965: |
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GE "Lucalox®" lamp first appears in product catalog |
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| 1968: |
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GE "Lucalox®" lamp redesigned after initial problems |
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| 1976: |
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Westinghouse introduces a "Ceramalux®" lamp with a clear, single-crystal "Corstar Sapphire®" arc-tube from Gerald Meiling's team at Corning Glass |
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| Compact Fluorescent Lamp: |
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| 1964: |
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Red-emitting rare earth phosphors introduced for color television tubes |
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| 1970: |
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John Anderson [GE Schenectady] experimental "SEF" (Solenoidal Electric Field) lamp |
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early
1972: |
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John Campbell [GE Nela Park] experimental "Sequential Switching" lamp |
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| 1974: |
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William Roche [GTE Sylvania] experimental "Short Arc" lamp |
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| 1975: |
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Robert Young & Allen Reed [Westinghouse] experimental "Partition" lamp |
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| 1976: |
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Jan Hasker [Philips - Eindhoven] experimental "Recombinant Structure" lamps
Donald Hollister [Lighting Technology Corp.] experimental "Litek" electrodeless lamp
GE commercial "Circlite" lamp |
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| 1977: |
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Edward Hammer [GE Nela Park] experimental "Spiral-tube" lamp
Leo Gross & Merrill Skeist [Spellman Electronics] "M.A.S." (Magnetic Arc Spreader) lamp |
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| 1978: |
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J.M.P.J. Verstegen, D. Radielovic', and L.E. Vrenken [Philips] rare-earth phosphors with an alumina host-lattice |
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| 1980: |
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Philips commercial "SL-18®" lamp
Westinghouse commercial "Econ-Nova®" lamp |
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| 1983: |
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Philips commercial "PL-9®" lamp |
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| Silica Carbide Filament Lamp: |
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November
1971: |
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James Shyne and John Milewski patent for "Method of Growing Silicon Carbide Whiskers" |
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April
1985: |
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Milewski receives patent for silicon carbide "Articles" used for structural reinforcement |
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| 1987: |
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Peter Milewski science fair project investigating silica carbide whiskers takes 3rd place in competition
Superkinetic Inc. founded and operated from Milewskis' home |
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September
1989: |
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U.S. Patent # 4,864,186 for "Single Crystal Whisker Electric Light Filament" granted to John and Peter Milewski |
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| 1991: |
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Electric Power Research Institute begins funding research on the lamp
Research is moved into lab space at the University of New Mexico |
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| 1993: |
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Superkinetic receives funding from a joint NIST - DOE program |
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| 1995: |
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Research is moved to a new building in Albuquerque |
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| Microwave - Sulfur Lamp: |
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| 1974: |
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Fusion Systems introduces "TEM" electrodeless ultraviolet lamp for curing inks |
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June
1980: |
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Michael Ury and Chuck Wood unsuccessfully test sulfur in a TEM lamp |
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| 1982: |
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Lorne Whitehead receives a patent for a prism light guide |
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October
1982: |
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Ury and Wood file for a patent on the "AEL" a spherical, rotating, UV lamp |
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| 1986: |
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Ury unsuccessful with an AEL metal-halide lamp for theatrical use |
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| 1989: |
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Fusion Systems introduces the "HI-IQ," an improved spherical, rotating, UV lamp
Whitehead and 3M produce an optical film for lightpipes |
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Spring
1990: |
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Ury and Jim Dolan obtain visible light from sulfur in "HI-IQ" lamps |
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| 1992: |
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Fusion Systems collaborates with DOE's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory to run further tests on the new lamp |
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December
1992: |
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Fusion Lighting is incorporated to develop and market the sulfur lamp |
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October
1994: |
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Demonstration lamps coupled to lightpipes are
installed outside the Forrestal Building, and inside the National Air & Space Museum |
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April
1995: |
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U.S. Patent # 5,404,076 issued to Ury, Wood, and Dolan
Fusion Lighting introduces the "Solar 1000" commercial lamp |
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| 1997: |
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Fusion Lighting, and Cooper Lighting introduce a
free-standing kiosk fixture using the Sulfur Lamp |
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May
1998: |
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Remote Source Lighting International demonstrates and
wins an award for a fiber-optic illuminator driven by a sulfur lamp at an industry trade-show |
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