responsible for lighting, extinguishing and watching the lamps.
In 1417, the Mayor of London ordered that all London homes must hang lanterns outdoors after nightfall during the
winter months. This marked the first organised public street lightning.
Scottish inventor William Murdoch kicked off a movement towards more efficient lighting in 1802. His coal-fuelled
gas light illuminated the outside of the SoHo Foundry for a public presentation. Five years later, London had it's first
gas lit street.
In 1816, Baltimore became the first U.S city to install gas streetlights. Paris followed closely behind, in 1820 these early gas lights consisted of gas lanterns placed on poles.
Paris Laos claim to the world's first electric streetlights. It's arc lamps, also known as Yablochkov candles were
installed in 1878. Three years later, 4,000 of these electric lamps were in use, effectively replacing gas lanterns
mounted on poles.
Thomas Edison changed the world when he determined how to create a pure vacuum in his bulbs, something Joseph
Swan was unable to achieve. Edison's carbon-thread incandescent lamp, introduced in 1879, led to the development of light bulbs for streetlights.
Low pressure sodium lamps were introduced in Europe in the 1930s. These lamps includ d a removable outer jacket and a vacuum layer for insulation, maintaining a high temperature to keep sodium in a vapour form.
American Nick Holonyak, Jr. developed the first practical visible spectrum light-emitting diode(LED) in 1962.
In 1965 high pressure sodium(HID) lamps brought superior colour and efficiency compared to their low-pressure
predecessors. HID lamps are still the most widespread type on the planet.
Modern LEDs last longer, produce better light and use less energy that HID lamps. While LEDs represented a tiny
fraction of streetlights in the USA a few years ago, the pace of adoption is growing by leaps and bounds.
We have come a long way since the days of the ancient Romans, and thanks to the rapid rise of LEDs, HID streetlights
may soon be just as extinct as the oil lamps the Romans used to light long vanished roads.
More info on; www.historyoflighting.net