History Of Electric Christmas Tree Lights
Three years prior to this time thomas edison unveiled the first practical commercial incandescent light.
History of electric christmas tree lights. The father of electric christmas tree lights edward hibberd johnson not only added flash and color to christmas trees when he introduced electric lights in 1882 he saved lives in the process. On december 22 1882 edward johnson a friend of thomas edison and vice president of the edison electric light company displayed the first electrically illuminated christmas tree in the parlor of. Johnson put the very first string of electric christmas tree lights together in 1882. The tree according to the wheeling register was very.
Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity it also revolved. Ralph came up with the idea of pulling the lights from an old telephone switchboard and wiring them on a tree and thusly inventing the electric christmas tree lights. The very first string of electric christmas tree lights was invented by edward hibberd johnson in 1882. The first christmas tree with electric lights was lit up in 1882 the first christmas tree to be adorned in lights revolved and had 80 hand wired large red white and blue electric bulbs in 1882.
The first illuminated christmas tree was shown off by one of edison s employees to reporters who visited his manhattan house in 1882. The first use of electric christmas lighting was by thomas edison in 1880. Johnson was an inventor and businessman who worked with thomas edison on various projects. During the christmas season of 1880 edison who had invented the incandescent bulb the previous year hung strings of electric lights outside his laboratory in menlo park new jersey.
In 1894 grover cleveland became the first president to celebrate christmas with electric lights likely to impress his two young daughters. This incident is actually true but it happened in 1908 more than a quarter century after a close associate of edison s actually did the inventing.