---
title: "Which came first, the lightbulb or the telephone?"
description: "the lightbulb vs the telephone: the telephone came first, by 3 years — 1876 against 1879. What happened in each case, and why the dates are often given differently."
url: https://atoneplace.net/which-came-first/lightbulb-vs-telephone/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which came first, the lightbulb or the telephone?

**Which came first, the lightbulb or the telephone?: the telephone**

1876 — 3 years before the lightbulb

the telephone came first, by 3 years. Bell was granted US patent 174,465.

## Side by side

|  | the lightbulb | the telephone |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year | 1879 | 1876 |
| Date | 1879-10-22 | 1876-03-07 |
| Category | invention | invention |
| What happened | Edison's carbon filament lamp burned for over 13 hours. | Bell was granted US patent 174,465. |

## 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.

## the telephone

Bell's patent was granted on 7 March 1876 and he made the famous call to Watson three days later. Elisha Gray filed a caveat for a similar device on the same day in February that Bell filed his application, and the priority dispute has never entirely gone away. Antonio Meucci had demonstrated a working voice telegraph in New York in 1860 but could not afford to renew his caveat.

## Common questions

### Which came first, the lightbulb or the telephone?

the telephone, by 3 years — 1876 against 1879.

### When did the lightbulb start?

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

### When did the telephone start?

1876. Bell was granted US patent 174,465.

## Related pages

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

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Smithsonian Institution (https://naturalhistory.si.edu/)