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Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the lightbulb?

Which came first, the Eiffel Tower or the lightbulb?
the lightbulb
1879 — 10 years before the Eiffel Tower

the lightbulb came first, by 10 years. Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours.

Side by side

the Eiffel Tower the lightbulb
Year 1889 1879
Date 1889-03-31 1879-10-22
Category landmark invention
What happened The tower opened for the Paris Exposition Universelle. Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours.

the Eiffel Tower

Built for the 1889 World's Fair and intended to be dismantled after twenty years, the Eiffel Tower survived because it turned out to be useful as a radio antenna. It was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in 1930. It opened in the same year Nintendo was founded, and two and a half years after the Statue of Liberty it is often assumed to predate.

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, the Eiffel Tower or the lightbulb?
the lightbulb, by 10 years — 1879 against 1889.
When did the Eiffel Tower start?
1889. The tower opened for the Paris Exposition Universelle.
When did the lightbulb start?
1879. Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
  2. Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked