The late nineteenth century was a period of explosive technological creativity, but arguably the most important invention of all was Thomas Edison’s incandescent light-bulb.
The light bulb became a catalyst for the nation’s transformation from a rural to an urban-dominated culture. City streetlights defined zones between rich and poor, and the electrical grid sharpened the line between town and country.
In The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America , author Ernest Freeberg places the story of Edison’s invention in the context of a technological revolution that transformed America and Europe in these decades.
