Joseph Swan Biography, Inventions, and Facts.
                     Joseph Swan: 
Biography, 
Inventions, 
and Facts
Introduction
Joseph Swan (1828-1914) 
was a British inventor who 
had a desire to improve the 
world around him. If you've 
ever turned on a light or 
taken a photograph, you've 
used a form of Swan's 
inventions, perhaps without 
even realizing it.
Source: study.com
Early Life
Joseph Swan was born in 
Sunderland, England, on 
October 31, 1828. 
As a child, he was very 
interested in the world 
around him. 
He was especially curious 
about how things worked. 
Source: study.com
Education
When he was just 14 years 
old, Swan became an 
apprentice at a 
pharmaceutical, or 
prescription drug company. 
Swan later went on to work 
at a chemical company, 
where he continued to 
study science and 
experiment with different 
possible inventions.
Source: study.com
ELECTRIC LIGHT
In 1850 Swan began 
working on a light bulb 
using carbonized paper 
filaments in an evacuated 
glass bulb. 
By 1860 he was able to 
demonstrate a working 
device, and obtained a 
British patent covering a 
partial vacuum, carbon 
filament incandescent 
lamp. 
Source: study.com
Incandescent lamp
This incandescent lamp 
was first publicly 
demonstrated by Swan at 
his lectures in 1878-79, to 
a steadily growing 
audience. 
He obtained another patent 
in 1880, for using 
“parchmentised thread” 
made from cotton as a 
filament in the bulb.
Source: www.famousinventors.org
The Swan Electric 
Light Company Ltd
In the same year he formed 
“The Swan Electric Light 
Company Ltd” to 
manufacture incandescent 
light bulbs for private and 
commercial use. 
Source: www.famousinventors.org
Installing bulbs at 
public locations
Swan began installing 
bulbs at various public 
locations; for instance, the 
Lit & Phil Library in 
Westgate Road, Newcastle 
was lit during one of his 
lectures and the Savoy 
theatre in London became 
the first public building in 
the world to be lit entirely 
by electricity. 
Source: www.famousinventors.org
Developed safety 
lamp
Swan also developed a 
safety lamp for use by 
miners, which was 
improved in the 
subsequent years by others 
before being fit for 
widespread use.
Source: www.famousinventors.org
Development of 
photography
Joseph Swan also 
contributed to the 
development of 
photography by developing 
a feasible process for 
carbon printing that 
allowed photographic 
prints to be made. 
He also invented the dry 
plate process as well as 
bromide paper.
Source: www.famousinventors.org
Death
Swan was elected to the 
Royal Society in 1894, and 
also presented with the 
Royal Society’s Hughes 
Medal in 1904, the same 
year that he was knighted. 
He died in 1914 in Surrey 
at the age of 85.
Source: www.famousinventors.org