Joseph Wilson Swan was born on October 31, 1828, in Sunderland, Durham. A male swan is called a cob, and a female swan is called a pen. In 1892 General Electric began exploiting Swan's patents to produce cellulose filaments, until they were replaced in 1904 by a GE developed "GEM" (General Electric Metallized) baked cellulose filaments. [17][18] In 1881, he founded his own company, The Swan Electric Light Company,[19] and started commercial production. Swan enjoyed reading science books and attending academic lectures at the Sunderland Athenaeum (pronounced ath-uh-NEE-uhm), which was similar to what we might consider a library. Known commonly as Ediswan, the company sold lamps made with a cellulose filament that Swan had invented in 1881 while the Edison Company continued using bamboo filaments outside of Britain. Swan's carbon rod lamp and carbon filament lamp, while functional, were still relatively impractical due to low resistance (needing very expensive thick copper wiring) and short running life. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Wilson-Swan, Linda Hall Library - Biography of Joseph Wilson Swan, The National Museum of American History - Lighting A Revolution - Lamp Inventors 1880-1940: Carbon Filament Incandescent, The Institution of Engineering and Technology - Biography of Joseph Swan, Joseph Swan - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Complete Joseph Swan 2017 Biography. Three years later, while searching for a better carbon filament for his lightbulb, Swan patented a process for squeezing nitrocellulose through holes to form fibres. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Advertisement for Ediswan incandescent lightbulbs, 1898. By 1871 he had devised a method of drying the wet plates, initiating the age of convenience in photography. From that time he began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks in England. from Durham University. from the University of Durham. — Sir Joseph Swan (1828–1914)", Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Science, optics and you. He was especially curious about how things worked. After serving his apprenticeship with a … He is known as an independent early developer of a successful incandescent light bulb, and is the person responsible for developing and supplying the first incandescent lights used to illuminate homes and public buildings, including the Savoy Theatre, London, in 1881. By 1860, he was able to demonstrate a working device, but the lack of a good vacuum, and an adequate electric source, resulted in an inefficient light bulb with a short lifetime. In August 1863 he presented his own design for a vacuum pump to a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. This required a wired supply so the following year he presented one with a battery and other improved versions followed. Burgess, Michael. Joseph Swan was born in Sunderland, England, on October 31, 1828. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song in the moment just before death, having been silent (or alternatively, not so musical) during most of their lifetime. The first private residence, other than the inventor's, lit by the new incandescent lamp was that of his friend, Sir William Armstrong at Cragside, near Rothbury, Northumberland. When working with wet photographic plates, Swan noticed that heat increased the sensitivity of the silver bromide emulsion. Swan had formed 'The Swan Electric Light Company Ltd' with a factory at Benwell, Newcastle, and had established the first commercial manufacture of incandescent lightbulbs by the beginning of 1881. He devised a method of treating cotton to produce "parchmentised thread", and obtained British Patent 4933 on 27 November 1880. Swan's carbon rod lamp and carbon filament lamp, while functional, were still relatively impractical due to low resistance (needing very expensive thick copper wiring) and short running life. [12][13], In 1875, Swan returned to consider the problem of the light bulb with the aid of a better vacuum and a carbonised thread as a filament. Sir Kenneth Rayden Swan was a QC and an acknowledged authority on patent law. Later Swan teamed up with Edison for the commercial exploitation, using the trademark Edi-Swan. [34], In what are considered to be independent lines of inquiry, Swan's incandescent electric lamp was developed at the same time Thomas Edison was working on his incandescent lamp[35] with Swan's first successful lamp and Edison's lamp both patented in 1879. In 1892, General Electric (GE) began exploiting Swan's patents to produce cellulose filaments, until they were replaced in 1904 by a GE developed "General Electric Metallized" (GEM) baked cellulose filaments. In 1881 he founded his own company, The Swan Electric Light Company, and started commercial production. Swan first publicly demonstrated his incandescent carbon lamp at a lecture for the Newcastle upon Tyne Chemical Society on 18 December 1878. The first private residence, other than the inventor's, lit by the new incandescent lamp was that of his friend, Sir William Armstrong at Cragside, near Rothbury, Northumberland. He later became a partner in Mawson's, a firm of manufacturing chemists in Newcastle upon Tyne, started by John Mawson (9 Sep 1819 – 17 December 1867) the husband of his sister, Elizabeth Swan (22 Nov 1822 – 2 August 1905). SIR JOSEPH SWAN (1828–1914) Many of the important developments in new technologies of imaging and illumination in the latter part of the nineteenth century were associated with Joseph Swan. from Durham University. [35] The incandescent lamps consume no oxygen, and cause no perceptible heat. Swan was born on Oct. 31, 1828, in Sunderland, and he served an apprenticeship with a pharmacist there. [42] He also served as president of the Society of Chemical Industry in 1901, and in 1903 he was chosen first president of the Faraday Society. In 1894, Swan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS),[41] and in 1898 he was elected president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers; at the time, Swan was one of its three honorary members, the other two being Lord Kelvin and Henry Wilde. The most significant feature of Swan's improved lamp was that there was little residual oxygen in the vacuum tube to ignite the filament, thus allowing the filament to glow almost white-hot without catching fire. His parents were John Swan and Isabella Cameron. This area, with nearby Brimsdown subsequently developed as a centre for the manufacture of thermionic valves, cathode ray tubes, etc. In 1904 he was knighted, awarded the Royal Society's Hughes Medal, and made an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society. Swan's design was similar in construction to the Sprengel pump and predates Herman Sprengel's research by two years. [4] He attended lectures at the Sunderland Atheneum. Joseph Swan was born in England on October 31, 1828.British physicist and chemist who came up with the incandescent light bulb before Thomas Edison did. Carbon filament lamp (E27 socket, 220 volts, approx. As a child, he was very interested in the world around him. Black swans are native to Australia. Ediswan became part of British Thomson-Houston and Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) in the late 1920s.[40]. Swan had reported success to the Newcastle Chemical Society and at a lecture in Newcastle in February 1879 he demonstrated a working lamp. Photograph. Announcing our NEW encyclopedia for Kids! He had received the highest decoration in France, the Légion d'honneur, when he visited an international exhibition in Paris in 1881. The premises are now occupied by hamburger chain Byron and can be identified by a line of Victorian-style electric street lamps in front of the store on Grey Street. [28][44], Swan married firstly Frances "Fanny" White, third daughter of William White, of Liverpool, at Camberwell Chapel, London, on 31 July 1862.[45]. Fifteen years later, in 1875, Swan returned to consider the problem of the light bulb and, with the aid of a better vacuum and a carbonized thread as a filament. He was said to have had an enquiring mind even as a child. Sir Joseph Wilson Swan(31 October 1828–27 May 1914) was an Englishphysicistand chemistwho was well known because he created the incandescent light bulb, about a year before Thomas Edison. Joseph Swan : biography 31 October 1828 – 27 May 1914 Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (31 October 1828 – 27 May 1914) was a British physicist and chemist. However, the lack of good vacuum and an adequate electric source resulted in a short lifetime for the bulb and an inefficient light. The most significant feature of Swan's improved lamp was that there was little residual oxygen in the vacuum tube to ignite the filament, thus allowing the filament to glow almost white-hot without catching fire. "[24] The first generator proved too small to power the whole building, and though the entire front-of-house was electrically lit, the stage was lit by gas until 28 December 1881. However, his filament had low resistance, thus needing heavy copper wires to supply it. In 1864, Swan patented the transfer process for making carbon prints, a permanent photographic process.
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