Ladygin a. Thomas Edison, incandescent lamp and Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin. Russia - Abroad

Today we will tell you who actually invented the incandescent lamp, Thomas Edison or Alexander Lodygin.

Thomas Alva Edison

American inventor and entrepreneur who received 1093 patents in the United States and about 3 thousand in other countries of the world; creator of the phonograph; improved the telegraph, telephone, film equipment, developed one of the first commercially successful variants of an electric incandescent lamp. It was he who suggested using the word "hello" at the beginning of a telephone conversation. In 1928 he was awarded the highest honor of the United States - the Congressional Gold Medal. In 1930 he became a foreign honorary member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

A Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin

Russian electrical engineer, one of the inventors of the incandescent lamp.

Born in the village of Stenshino, Lipetsk district, Tambov province. He came from a very old and noble noble family.

His parents were poor nobles. According to family tradition, Alexander was supposed to become a military man, and therefore in 1859 he entered an unranked company (“preparatory classes”) of the Voronezh Cadet Corps, which was located in Tambov, then he was transferred to Voronezh with the characteristic: “kind, sympathetic, diligent”.

In 1870, Lodygin retired and moved to St. Petersburg. Here he is looking for funds to create a flying machine with an electric engine (electric aircraft) he conceived and, in parallel, begins the first experiments with incandescent lamps.

He also worked on the project of a diving apparatus. Without waiting for a decision from the Russian military ministry, Lodygin writes to Paris and invites the republican government to use the aircraft in the war with Prussia. Having received a positive response, the inventor travels to France. But the defeat of France in the war stopped Lodygin's plans.

Incandescent lamp

The notorious “Thomas Edison light bulb” was actually invented by Russian engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin.

Returning from Paris to St. Petersburg, he attended classes in physics, chemistry, and mechanics as a volunteer at the Institute of Technology. In 1871-1874, he conducted experiments and demonstrations of electric lighting with incandescent lamps in the Admiralty, Galernaya Harbor, on Odessa Street, at the Technological Institute.

In 1872, Lodygin replaced plant fibers in incandescent lamps with carbon rods, and in the 90s he proposed making a tungsten filament. Three years later, the first public demonstrations of electric incandescent lamps suitable for practical use took place. But these lamps burned for only 40 minutes. Vasily Fedorovich Didrikhson, one of Lodygin's employees, proposed pumping air out of the lamps, as a result of which the lamp life increased to almost 1000 hours of operation.

In 1872, Lodygin applied for the invention of an incandescent lamp, and in 1874 he received a patent for his invention (privilege No. 1619 dated July 11, 1874) and the Lomonosov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Lodygin patented his invention in many countries: Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Saxony, and even in India and Australia.

In 1873, in St. Petersburg on Sands (the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Soviet streets), Lodygin made the first experience of street lighting with an electric incandescent lamp. But Lodygin's affairs did not receive financial support from the state.

The company “Russian Association of Electric Lighting Lodygin and K”, created by him together with his friend and assistant Didrikhson, soon went bankrupt. In the 1870s, Lodygin became close to the populists. In 1875-1878 he spent in the Tuapse colony-community of populists.

Although Thomas Edison began his experiments with an electric incandescent lamp only in 1878. he had the worldwide support of American financiers, in particular John Pierpont Morgan. Together with him, he created the firm "Edison Electric Lighting Society" with a capital of 300 thousand dollars. Edison improved Lodygin's invention by creating a modern form of a lamp, a screw base with a cartridge, a plug, a socket, a fuse. And today, when the word is about Edison, looking back, you understand that everything turned out like this, because Lodygin did not receive funding from the state. But the fact is that the incandescent lamp was created not by Thomas Edison, but by the Russian engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin himself.

Source - Wikipedia, magazine Mysteries of History, author of the text - Anna Semenenko.

Thomas Edison, incandescent lamp and Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin updated: October 25, 2017 by: website

Lodygin was born in the village of Stenshino, Tambov province, into a noble family. The family of the future inventor was very noble and descended from Andrei Kobyla, from whom the Romanovs also descended.

In 1859, Lodygin entered the cadet corps in Tambov, and in 1867 he graduated from the Moscow cadet school, where he studied as a military engineer. After 3 years, Alexander moved to St. Petersburg. Even then, his interest in incandescent lamps manifested itself. As a free listener, he began to attend lectures at the Institute of Technology. In 1871-1874, Lodygin devoted himself to experiments, trying to use incandescent lamps for electric lighting of the Admiralty, the Galley Harbor, the Institute of Technology, etc.

At first, the inventor tried to use iron wire as a filament, but such experiments were unsuccessful, and Lodygin began to experiment with a carbon rod, which was placed in a glass cylinder.

In 1872, Lodygin filed an application for his invention, and after 2 years he received the privilege (patent) No. 1619 (dated July 11, 1874). Petersburg Academy of Sciences honored the inventor with the Lomonosov Prize. Lodygin eventually received patents for his invention from Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Saxony, India and Australia. The inventor also founded the firm "Russian Association of Electric Lighting Lodygin and K0".

The first incandescent lamp, coal, was invented in 1838 in Belgium. A little later, in 1840, an incandescent lamp with a platinum spiral appeared in Great Britain. The German inventor G. Goebel in 1854 created a kind of modern lamp, which was a charred bamboo thread in a vacuum vessel.

In parallel with experiments with incandescent lamps, Lodygin worked on a project for a diving apparatus. Research and experience in this area have been successful. In 1871, Lodygin designed a diving suit in which oxygen was to be produced from water through electrolysis - reducing chemical reactions that occur when using electric current.

In the period 1875-1878, the inventor became close with representatives of the socio-political movement of the populists; he spent these years in Tuapse in the populist community. In 1878, Lodygin returned to St. Petersburg, where he worked at various factories, improved the design of the diving apparatus he invented, and created projects for other inventions.

In 1884, Lodygin went abroad, where he spent about 23 years. The Russian inventor worked in France and the USA, where he created a series of new models of incandescent lamps, projects for electric furnaces, electric vehicles, etc. Soon after he left Russia, Lodygin organized the production of incandescent lamps in Paris. In the early 90s of the XIX century, the inventor began to use filaments made of refractory metals for powerful lamps of 100-400 candles, and in 1894 he organized the Lodygin and de Lisle company in Paris, which was engaged in the production of incandescent lamps.

Best of the day

The Russian inventor was the first to propose using tungsten filaments in incandescent lamps and twisting them in the form of a spiral, as is still done in electric light bulbs. Another innovation was that Lodygin for the first time began to pump air out of the lamps, which made it possible to multiply their service life. In addition, in order to increase the service life of the lamps, Lodygin began to fill them with an inert gas. Patents obtained by a Russian researcher at the end of the 19th century for lamps with filaments of refractory metals were sold in 1906 to the American firm General Electric Company.

In 1900, Lodygin, with his inventions, took part in the World Exhibition in Paris. Later, having moved to the USA, the inventor in 1906 supervised the construction and commissioning of a plant for the electrochemical production of tungsten, chromium and titanium. In addition, Lodygin created designs for electric resistance furnaces and induction furnaces for melting metals, melinite, glass, hardening and annealing steel products, and obtaining phosphorus and silicon.

In 1895, Lodygin married the journalist Alma Schmidt, and in 1907 he came to Russia with his wife and two daughters. He was engaged in teaching at the Electrotechnical Institute, worked in the construction department of the St. Petersburg Railway. At the beginning of the First World War, the inventor began to develop a vertical take-off aircraft.

Shortly after the February Revolution of 1917, the inventor and his family again left for the United States. Representatives of the new government invited Lodygin to return to Soviet Russia to participate in the development of the GOELRO plan (electrification of the country), but the inventor refused due to illness. Lodygin died in Brooklyn (USA) in March 1923.

Lodygin's inventions, especially the incandescent lamp, played a huge role in the further development of world civilization. Now it is difficult to imagine life without electric lighting. Currently, several types of incandescent lamps are produced, differing in purpose and design features. These are incandescent lamps for general and local purposes, decorative and illuminating, mirror, signal, transport, projector lamps, lamps intended for use in optical devices, and halogen lamps. Previously, small switching lamps were used as indicators in various devices, but LEDs are currently used for similar purposes.

- Russian inventor and electrical engineer. He created an electric incandescent lamp with a tungsten filament. It was he who first proved the viability of using a refractory metal conductor as a luminous element for electric light bulbs.

Alexander Nikolaevich was born October 6, 1847 in the village of Stenshino, Tambov region, in a very old and noble noble family. At the age of 12, he enters the Tambov Cadet Corps, and then the Moscow Cadet School. In 1867 he graduated from college, having received the education of a military engineer. After that, his short military career begins. After serving the mandatory lines (3 years), Lodygin leaves the army and plunges headlong into engineering developments, to which he had an undoubted inclination.

In 1870 he develops an aircraft heavier than air, while simultaneously starting experiments to improve the incandescent lamps created at that time. As for the aircraft, although it turned out to be quite functional, it did not find approval from the Russian government, and then from the French. From 1871 to 1874 Lodygin is a free student at the Technological Institute of St. Petersburg and at the same time demonstrates incandescent lamps. For his developments, he initially uses metal filaments, but they quickly burn out and Lodygin turns his attention to carbon rods. In 1872 Alexander Nikolayevich applies for a patent for his incandescent lamp with a carbon rod, and only two years later receives it. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences even awards him the Lomonosov Prize.

Before 1884 Lodygin fruitfully works not only on the improvement of incandescent lamps, but also on the development of diving equipment. He cooperates with various Russian factories, participates in electrical exhibitions. For his engineering developments, he receives the Order of Stanislav III degree - a rare award for Russian inventors. In 1884 mass arrests of revolutionary-minded members of various organizations force Lodygin to leave Russia and move first to France and then to America. In Paris, he organizes the production of incandescent lamps according to his own calculations. In 1993 he again returns to experiments with metal filaments, but from refractory metals - tungsten, chromium and titanium. A year later, he organizes his own lamp company, Lodygin and de Lisle.

In the USA, he creates new lamps based on refractory metals, builds a plant for the electrochemical production of tungsten, chromium and titanium. He develops electric furnaces for melting and hardening metals, obtaining phosphorus and silicon.

It cannot be said that it was Alexander Nikolayevich who was the sole father of the discovery of the electric light bulb. Its creation is a whole chain of events and inventions of various scientists and inventors. But it was Lodygin who first proposed and actually began to use tungsten filaments, which are still used today. In addition, it was he who suggested using not a straight line, but a thread twisted into a spiral. It was he who came up with the idea of ​​pumping air out of the flask and filling it with an inert gas. It was his inventions that became the impetus for the creation of modern incandescent lamps.

Alexander Nikolayevich Ladygin was born in the village of Stenshino, Lipetsk district, Tambov province (now Petrovsky district, Tambov region). He came from a very old and noble noble family (his family, like the Romanov family, descended from Andrei Kobyla). His parents are poor nobles, Nikolai Ivanovich and Varvara Alexandrovna (nee Velyaminova).

According to family tradition, Alexander was supposed to become a military man, and therefore in 1859 he entered an unranked company (“preparatory classes”) of the Voronezh Cadet Corps named after Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, which was located in Tambov, then was transferred to Voronezh with the characteristic: “Good, responsive, diligent." And in 1861, the entire Lodygin family moved to Tambov. In 1865, Lodygin was released from the Cadet Corps as a cadet to the 71st Belevsky Infantry Regiment, and from 1866 to 1868 he studied at the Moscow Junker Infantry School. In 1870, Lodygin retired and moved to St. Petersburg. Here he is looking for funds to create the flying machine he conceived (electroplane) and in parallel begins the first experiments with incandescent lamps. Work is also underway on a project for a diving apparatus. Without waiting for a decision from the Russian military ministry, Lodygin writes to Paris and invites the republican government to use the aircraft in the war with Prussia. Having received a positive response, the inventor travels to France. But the defeat of France in the war stopped Lodygin's plans.

Returning to St. Petersburg, he attended classes in physics, chemistry, and mechanics as a volunteer at the Technological Institute. In 1871-1874, he conducted experiments and demonstrations of electric lighting with incandescent lamps in the Admiralty, Galernaya Harbor, on Odessa Street, at the Technological Institute.

Initially, Ladygin tried to use an iron wire as a filament. Having failed, he switched to experiments with a carbon rod placed in a glass cylinder.

In 1872, Ladygin filed an application for the invention of an incandescent lamp, and in 1874 he received a patent for his invention (privilege No. 1619 dated July 11, 1874) and the Lomonosov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Lodygin patented his invention in many countries: Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Saxony, and even in India and Australia. He founded the Russian Association of Electric Lighting Lodygin and Co.

In the 1870s, Ladygin became close to the populists. He spent 1875-1878 in the Tuapse colony-community of populists. Since 1878, Lodygin has been back in St. Petersburg, working at various factories, improving his diving apparatus, and working on other inventions. For participation in the Vienna Electrical Exhibition, Lodygin was awarded the Order of Stanislav III degree - a rare case among Russian inventors. Honorary Electrical Engineer ETI (1899).

In 1884 mass arrests of revolutionaries began. Among those wanted are acquaintances and friends of Lodygin. He decided to go abroad. Parting with Russia lasted 23 years. Ladygin worked in France and the USA, creating new incandescent lamps, inventing electric furnaces, electric cars, building factories and the subway. Of particular note are the patents he received during this period for lamps with filaments of refractory metals, which were sold in 1906 to the General Electric Company.

In 1884, he organized the production of incandescent lamps in Paris and sent a batch of lamps to St. Petersburg for the 3rd electrical exhibition. In 1893, he turned to a filament made of refractory metals, which he used in Paris for powerful lamps of 100-400 candles. In 1894, in Paris, he organized the Lodygin and de Lisle lamp company. In 1900 he participated in the World Exhibition in Paris. In 1906, in the USA, he built and put into operation a plant for the electrochemical production of tungsten, chromium, and titanium. An important area of ​​inventive activity is the development of electric resistance and induction furnaces for melting metals, melenite, glass, hardening and annealing of steel products, obtaining phosphorus, silicon.



Biography Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin was born in the village of Stenshino, Tambov province, He came from a very noble noble family. His family, like the Romanov family, descended from Andrei Kobyla. Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin was born in the village of Stenshino, Tambov province, He came from a very noble noble family. His family, like the Romanov family, descended from Andrei Kobyla. In 1859, Lodygin entered the Tambov Cadet Corps. He studied as a military engineer at the Moscow Cadet School, which he graduated in 1867. In 1870 he moved to St. Petersburg. In 1859, Lodygin entered the Tambov Cadet Corps. He studied as a military engineer at the Moscow Cadet School, which he graduated in 1867. In 1870 he moved to St. Petersburg.


After retiring, he began to develop a circuit for an incandescent lamp. After retiring, he began to develop a circuit for an incandescent lamp. As a volunteer, he attended classes in physics, chemistry, and mechanics at the Technological Institute. As a volunteer, he attended classes in physics, chemistry, and mechanics at the Technological Institute. In the years conducted experiments and demonstrations of electric lighting with incandescent lamps in the Admiralty, Galernaya Harbor, on Odessa Street, at the Technological Institute. In 1872 he applied for and received a patent. In the years conducted experiments and demonstrations of electric lighting with incandescent lamps in the Admiralty, Galernaya Harbor, on Odessa Street, at the Technological Institute. In 1872 he applied for and received a patent. Initially, Lodygin tried to use iron wire as a filament. Having failed, he switched to experiments with a carbon rod placed in a glass cylinder. Initially, Lodygin tried to use iron wire as a filament. Having failed, he switched to experiments with a carbon rod placed in a glass cylinder.


In 1872, Lodygin applied for the invention of an incandescent lamp, and in 1874 received a patent for his invention and the Lomonosov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Lodygin patents his invention in many countries: Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Saxony, and even in India and Australia. Later, he founded the Russian Association of Electric Lighting Lodygin and Co. In 1872, Lodygin applied for the invention of an incandescent lamp, and in 1874 received a patent for his invention and the Lomonosov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Lodygin patents his invention in many countries: Austria-Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Saxony, and even in India and Australia. Later, he founded the Russian Association of Electric Lighting Lodygin and Co. Since 1878, Lodygin has been back in St. Petersburg, working at various factories, improving his diving apparatus, and working on other inventions. Since 1878, Lodygin has been back in St. Petersburg, working at various factories, improving his diving apparatus, and working on other inventions.


For participation in the Vienna Electrical Exhibition, Lodygin was awarded the Order of Stanislav III degree, a rare case among Russian inventors. For participation in the Vienna Electrical Exhibition, Lodygin was awarded the Order of Stanislav III degree, a rare case among Russian inventors. Honorary Electrical Engineer of ETI since 1899. But in 1884 mass arrests of revolutionaries began. He decides to go abroad. Parting with Russia lasted 23 years. Lodygin works in France and the USA, creates new incandescent lamps, invents electric furnaces, electric cars, builds factories and the subway. Of particular note are the patents he received during this period for lamps with filaments of refractory metals, which were sold in 1906 to the General Electric Company. Honorary Electrical Engineer of ETI since 1899. But in 1884 mass arrests of revolutionaries began. He decides to go abroad. Parting with Russia lasted 23 years. Lodygin works in France and the USA, creates new incandescent lamps, invents electric furnaces, electric cars, builds factories and the subway. Of particular note are the patents he received during this period for lamps with filaments of refractory metals, which were sold in 1906 to the General Electric Company.


In 1884, he organized the production of incandescent lamps in Paris and sent a batch of lamps to St. Petersburg for the 3rd electrical exhibition. In 1884, he organized the production of incandescent lamps in Paris and sent a batch of lamps to St. Petersburg for the 3rd electrical exhibition. In 1893, he turned to a filament made of refractory metals, which he used in Paris for powerful lamps of 100 ... 400 candles. In 1893, he turned to a filament made of refractory metals, which he used in Paris for powerful lamps of 100 ... 400 candles. In 1894, in Paris, he organized the Lodygin and de Lisle lamp company. In 1900, he participated in the World Exhibition in Paris. In 1906, in the USA, he launched a plant for the electrochemical production of tungsten. In 1894, he organized the Lodygin and de Lisle lamp company in Paris. In 1900, he participated in the World Exhibition in Paris. In 1906, in the USA, he launched a plant for the electrochemical production of tungsten, chromium and titanium. chrome and titanium. Another important invention is the development of electric resistance and induction furnaces for melting metals, selenite, glass, hardening and annealing of steel products, obtaining phosphorus and silicon. Another important invention is the development of electric resistance and induction furnaces for melting metals, selenite, glass, hardening and annealing of steel products, obtaining phosphorus and silicon.


In 1895 Lodygin married the journalist Alma Schmidt, the daughter of a German engineer. In 1895 Lodygin married the journalist Alma Schmidt, the daughter of a German engineer. They had two daughters, Margarita and Vera. They had two daughters, Margarita and Vera. The Lodygin family moved to Russia in 1907. Alexander Nikolaevich brings a whole series of inventions in drawings and sketches. The Lodygin family moved to Russia in 1907. Alexander Nikolaevich brings a whole series of inventions in drawings and sketches. Lodygin teaches at the Electrotechnical Institute, works in the construction department of the St. Petersburg Railway.


The First World War changes all plans, Lodygin begins to work on a vertical take-off aircraft. After the February Revolution of 1917, the inventor did not work well with the new government. Financial difficulties force the Lodygin family to leave for the USA. The First World War changes all plans, Lodygin begins to work on a vertical take-off aircraft. After the February Revolution of 1917, the inventor did not work well with the new government. Financial difficulties force the Lodygin family to leave for the USA. In March 1923 Lodygin died in Brooklyn In March 1923 Lodygin died in Brooklyn


Inventions 1. Incandescent lamp. 1. Incandescent lamp. 2. In 1871, Lodygin created a project for an autonomous diving suit using a gas mixture consisting of oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen was supposed to be produced from water by electrolysis 2. In 1871, Lodygin created a project for an autonomous diving suit using a gas mixture consisting of oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen was to be produced from water by electrolysis


3. A. N. Lodygin showed the advantages of using metal, in particular tungsten, wire for the manufacture of a filament body and, thus, laid the foundation for the production of modern, much more economical incandescent lamps than carbon lamps of the early period. 3. A. N. Lodygin showed the advantages of using metal, in particular tungsten, wire for the manufacture of a filament body and, thus, laid the foundation for the production of modern, much more economical incandescent lamps than carbon lamps of the early period. 4. A. N. Lodygin paved the way for the success of P. N. Yablochkov and, undoubtedly, had a strong influence on T. A. Edison and D. Swan, who, using the principle of operation of an incandescent lamp, approved by the works of A. N. Lodygin, turned this device into a commodity. 4. A. N. Lodygin paved the way for the success of P. N. Yablochkov and, undoubtedly, had a strong influence on T. A. Edison and D. Swan, who, using the principle of operation of an incandescent lamp, approved by the works of A. N. Lodygin, turned this device into a commodity.


The history of the light bulb is a whole chain of discoveries made by different people at different times. But Lodygin's merits in this area are especially great. He was the first to propose the use of tungsten filaments in lamps (in modern electric light bulbs, filaments are made of tungsten) and twist the filament in the form of a spiral. He was also the first to pump air out of the lamps, which increased their service life many times over. The history of the light bulb is a whole chain of discoveries made by different people at different times. But Lodygin's merits in this area are especially great. He was the first to propose the use of tungsten filaments in lamps (in modern electric light bulbs, filaments are made of tungsten) and twist the filament in the form of a spiral. He was also the first to pump air out of the lamps, which increased their service life many times over. Another invention of Lodygin, aimed at increasing the life of lamps, was filling them with an inert gas. Another invention of Lodygin, aimed at increasing the life of lamps, was filling them with an inert gas. The light bulb does not have a single inventor.


Conclusion The goal set at the beginning of the work has been achieved. Having studied the life path of a remarkable scientist, inventor and just an inquisitive and diversified person, such as A.N. Lodygin, we realized that the Tambov region gave the world a great man, whom we are truly proud of. The goal set at the beginning of the work has been achieved. Having studied the life path of a remarkable scientist, inventor and just an inquisitive and diversified person, such as A.N. Lodygin, we realized that the Tambov region gave the world a great man, whom we are truly proud of. And we are also proud that our homeland - the Tambo land is so fertile in every sense of the word. And we are also proud that our homeland - the Tambo land is so fertile in every sense of the word.


Literature and resources: Literature and resources: 1. Encyclopedia "Cyril and Methodius" 2. Great Soviet Encyclopedia. M: 1981. 3. Ershov AP School computerization and mathematical education, Mathematics at school Tambov region. Information Guide d. html

Read also: