In 1802, Humphry Davy invented the first electric light. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light. His invention was known as the Electric Arc lamp. And while it produced light, it didn’t produce it for long and was much too bright for practical use.

Over the next seven decades, other inventors also created “light bulbs” but no designs emerged for commerical application. More notably, in 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue enclosed a coiled platinum filament in a vacuum tube and passed an electric current through it. The design was based on the concept that the high melting point of platinum would allow it to operate at high temperatures and that the evacuated chamber would contain fewer gas molecules to react with the platinum, improving its longevity. Although an efficient design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for commercial production.

In 1850 an English physicist named Joseph Wilson Swan created a “light bulb” by enclosing carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb. And by 1860 he had a working prototype, but the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity resulted in a bulb whose lifetime was much too short to be considered an effective prodcer of light. However, in the 1870’s better vacuum pumps became available and Swan continued experiments on light bulbs. In 1878, Swan developed a longer lasting light bulb using a treated cotton thread that also removed the problem of early bulb blackening.

On July 24, 1874 a Canadian patent was filed by a Toronto medical electrician named Henry Woodward and a colleague Mathew Evans. They built their lamps with different sizes and shapes of carbon rods held between electrodes in glass cylinders filled with nitrogen. Woodward and Evans attempted to commercialize their lamp, but were unsuccessful. They eventually sold their patent to Edison in 1879.
Extract dates and their relevance to development of the light bulb.
1802: Humphry Davy invented the first electric light known as the Electric Arc lamp, but it was too bright and didn't last long enough for practical use.
1840: Warren de la Rue creates a platinum filament light bulb. Although it is efficient, the cost of platinum made it commercially impractical.
1850: Joseph Wilson Swan created a carbonized paper filament light bulb, but the lack of a good vacuum and adequate electricity resulted in a bulb with a very short lifetime.
In the 1870s: Better vacuum pumps became available, allowing Swan to continue experimenting with light bulbs.
1878: Swan developed a longer-lasting light bulb using a treated cotton thread and simultaneously solved the problem of early bulb blackening.
July 24, 1874: Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans filed a Canadian patent for their lamp with carbon rods and nitrogen-filled glass cylinders. They were unsuccessful in commercializing it and eventually sold their patent to Edison in 1879.