Born on December 31
Edison Lights Up Menlo Park
Lighting up New Year's Eve, 1879.
Next: December 31, 2026
Where it comes from
On 31 December 1879, Thomas Edison opened his laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey, to show the public his new incandescent electric light. Extra trains ran from east and west, and despite stormy weather hundreds of people came to see dozens of lamps glowing in the laboratory, the office, nearby houses and along the…
How it's celebrated
There is no organised observance, but the date makes it easy: New Year's Eve is already a night of lights. Before the countdown, try switching everything off for a minute and lighting a single candle to feel how dark a winter evening was before electric light, then switch the lights back on and send someone a card.
Did you know
The best filaments for Edison's early lamps were made from bamboo collected at Yawata, near Kyoto, which became the standard for his lamps for about ten years.
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Star sign
Capricorn · December 22 – January 19 · Earth sign
Patient and ambitious, climbing steadily to the top.