---
title: "Which came first, Big Ben or the lightbulb?"
description: "Big Ben vs the lightbulb: Big Ben came first, by 20 years — 1859 against 1879. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-lightbulb/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, Big Ben or the lightbulb?

**Which came first, Big Ben or the lightbulb?: Big Ben**

1859 — 20 years before the lightbulb

Big Ben came first, by 20 years. The great bell rang for the first time.

## Side by side

|  | Big Ben | the lightbulb |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1859 | 1879 |
| Date | 1859-07-11 | 1879-10-22 |
| Category | landmark | invention |
| What happened | The great bell rang for the first time. | Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours. |

## Big Ben

Big Ben is the bell, not the tower and not the clock. It first rang in July 1859, cracked within two months, and has rung with that crack ever since — which is why it has its particular sound. The tower was called the Clock Tower until 2012, when it was renamed Elizabeth Tower for the Diamond Jubilee.

## the lightbulb

Edison did not invent the electric light. Humphry Davy demonstrated an arc lamp in 1802, and at least twenty inventors produced incandescent bulbs before him; Joseph Swan demonstrated one in Newcastle in 1878 and was granted a British patent, which is why Edison eventually had to merge with him as Ediswan. What Edison produced in October 1879 was a bulb that lasted long enough and cost little enough to sell, together with the generating and wiring system to make it useful.

## Common questions

### Which came first, Big Ben or the lightbulb?

Big Ben, by 20 years — 1859 against 1879.

### When did Big Ben start?

1859. The great bell rang for the first time.

### When did the lightbulb start?

1879. Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours.

## Related pages

- [Big Ben or the Statue of Liberty?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-statue-of-liberty/)
- [Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-eiffel-tower/)
- [Big Ben or Germany?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-germany/)
- [Big Ben or the fax machine?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-fax-machine/)
- [Big Ben or the telephone?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/big-ben-vs-telephone/)
- [the Eiffel Tower or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/eiffel-tower-vs-lightbulb/)
- [Germany or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/germany-vs-lightbulb/)
- [the hamburger or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/hamburger-vs-lightbulb/)
- [the bicycle or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/bicycle-vs-lightbulb/)
- [the fax machine or the lightbulb?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/fax-machine-vs-lightbulb/)
- [the lightbulb or the Statue of Liberty?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/lightbulb-vs-statue-of-liberty/)
- [the lightbulb or photography?](https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/lightbulb-vs-photograph/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]
- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)