According to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, “In 1879, he made an incandescent bulb that burned long enough to be practical, long enough to light a home for many hours. Then he and his ‘muckers’ invented the entire system needed to bring electricity into your home — dynamos to make the electric power, wires and fuses, switches to turn the lights on and off. He invented the electric power system.”

Note: Scroll down this page for Edison Notebook #52, page 105, start of notes on Oct. 22, 1879, and page 115, showing that No. 9 cotton thread lasted 14 1/2 hours on Oct 23, 1879.

Key Stats

Source: 1992-2023 Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey

Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing: U.S. Total — Value of Shipments

Source: 2023 and 2022 Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders (M3) Survey

Table 1. Value of Manufacturers' Shipments for Industry Groups. Find “Electric lighting equipment.”

Note: The above table is cropped to show the top and the section for electrical equipment, appliances, and components. Click on the image for the full table.

More Stats

From Business and Economy / International Trade Data:

USA Trade Online, The Official Source of Trade Statistics

Note: After you create an account, select options for “State Export Data (Origin of Movement)” or “State Import Data (State of Destination)” by “Harmonized System (HS)” or “NAICS.” Select “State,” “Measures,” “Commodity,” “Country” (select 8512 or 9405 and all subclassifications below each) or “Time” for data. More information can be found in the Quick Start Guide. USA Trade Online does not provide direct links to the data.

Source: 2018-2021 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM)

Table AM1831BASIC01, Annual Survey of Manufactures: Summary Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries in the U.S.: 2018-2021, showing the three codes listed below:

NAICS 3351, Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing
NAICS 33511, Electric Lamp Bulb and Part Manufacturing
NAICS 33512, Lighting Fixture Manufacturing

Source: 2021 County Business Patterns (CBP)

Table CB2100CBP, All Sectors: County Business Patterns, including ZIP Code Business Patterns, by Legal Form of Organization and Employment Size Class for U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2021, showing the three codes listed above.

Source: 1978-2021 Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS)

Table BDSEAGE, Business Dynamics Statistics: Establishment Age: 1978-2021, NAICS 3351, Electric lighting equipment manufacturing

Source: 2020 Annual Business Survey (ABS)

Table AB2000CSA03, Annual Business Survey: Receipts Size of Firm Statistics for Employer Firms by Sector, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status for the U.S., States, and Metro Areas: 2020, NAICS 3351, Electric lighting equipment manufacturing

Source: 2017 Economic Census

Table EC1731BASIC, Manufacturing: Summary Statistics for the U.S., States, and Selected Geographies: 2017, showing the three codes listed above.

Outside Links

National Park Service, Thomas Edison National Historic Park — FAQs

Rutgers, Life of Edison, Edison's Electric Lighting System, The Carbon-Filament Lamp

Smithsonian Institution, Lighting A Revolution — Inventing Edison’s Lamp

U.S. Department of Energy, The History of the Light Bulb

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver, Lighting Choices to Save You Money

Edison Notebook Series — Menlo Park Notebooks: Notebook #52 N-79-07-31 (1879-1880)

“This notebook covers the period July 1879–January 1880. Most of the entries are by Charles Batchelor. There are also entries by Edison and A. Poinier. The name of James Seymour appears occasionally as a witness. The first part of the book contains notes and drawings of experiments on metal filaments. Many relate to insulating materials used for coating the filaments. The second part of the book contains notes and drawings relating to the important series of experiments conducted in October 1879, which led to the invention of the carbon filament lamp. There are also notes and drawings documenting the development of the carbon filament through the end of 1879…”

“Blank pages not filmed: 54–55, 108–109. Missing page numbers: 217–218.”

“Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.”

Page Last Revised - October 19, 2023

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