Gaslight | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Gaslight

Although gaslights might seem quaint today, the introduction of gas lighting transformed the way people lived during the 1800s. Just when books and newspapers were becoming less expensive, gas lighting made it possible for poor families to read at night. And as the industrial revolution began, factories could operate for longer hours using gaslights in place of hazardous, expensive candles.

The Chinese first used gas for lighting in salt mines thousands of years ago, but the concept of indoor gas lights was not explored until the late 1700s. By then, coal was commonly used for heating, and scientists knew how to produce flammable gas from coal as well as from other solid fuels such as wood and peat. In 1792 William Murdock, a Scottish inventor living in Cornwall, illuminated his own house with coal-gas, even though many people feared the lights would cause a fatal explosion. The gas illumination proved safe; Murdock continued his experiments and developed methods of making, storing, and purifying coal-gas. Around the same time, French chemist Philippe Lebon was experimenting with gas made from sawdust. Lebon used this gas to light his home, and in 1799 he patented a wood-gas light called the Thermolamp and placed it on public display. However, the French government decided not to fund Lebon's scheme for a large-scale gas-lighting system, and his lamp never enjoyed widespread commercial use.

Although both Lebon and Murdock deserve credit as pioneers of the gas-lighting industry, coal-gas proved superior to wood-gas as a lighting fuel. Gas made from coal contains about 50 % hydrogen; the rest is methane, carbon monoxide, and a few other gases. Compared with natural gas, coal-gas is inferior in quality, but at the time it represented a vast improvement over coal itself. Gas could be piped from place to place, which was much easier than lugging tons of coal around, and gas flames were easier to ignite and to control by simply adjusting the gas flow to the burners. When William Murdock's employers heard about Lebon's experiments in France, they began to take gas lighting seriously and asked Murdock to install gaslights at their main factory in Birmingham, England. Then in 1802, to celebrate a temporary peace treaty between England and France, all of Birmingham was illuminated by coal-gas lights. This spectacular display marked the beginning of a whirlwind of activity for the gas-lighting industry. Murdock's company began manufacturing piping and burners for gas lights, and coal-gas was used to illuminate other factories and mills. However, some still feared that gas would explode, and its use for lighting in factories was suspected of being unhealthy for workers.

When early gas lights were introduced, coal-gas was made in small vessels to supply a single installation. A German entrepreneur, Frederick Winsor, was responsible for changing all that. He realized that it would be more efficient and profitable to make gas in large amounts, distribute it through underground pipes to several places, and sell the leftover solid " coke" as a low-quality fuel. Friedrich Accum (1769-1838), a German chemist who worked for Winsor, was responsible for applying Winsor's patented gas-lighting process; he conducted the experiments that enabled Winsor's company to compete with Murdock and his employers for the British gas-lighting business. Accum later went on to write what is now considered a classic text on gas technology. To fund his idea for centralized gas distribution, Winsor advertised for partners and formed a joint venture that succeeded in gaining support from an influential committee in England's Parliament. In 1807, Winsor and his partners illuminated a garden wall for the king's birthday and then staged the first gas streetlighting display in London. This installation, now one of the oldest in the world, put to rest any remaining doubts about the safety and practicality of gaslights. Parliament finally granted Winsor a charter for the first gas company, National Heat and Light, which was founded in 1812. Soon other cities and towns began installing central gasworks and distribution systems. By 1819, London alone had nearly 300 miles (480 km) of gas mains supplying more than 50,000 burners.

Not to be left out, American cities followed in the footsteps of their European counterparts. In 1816, officials in Baltimore, Maryland authorized Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860) to install a gas distribution and lighting system for the city's streets and buildings. Earlier, Peale's father Charles Peale (1741-1827) had experimented with indoor gaslights when he established his natural history museum in Philadelphia's Independence Hall in 1802. By the late 1800s, nearly one thousand American companies were making gas from coal, mainly for lighting. The first Canadian gas company was formed in 1836 to light the streets of Montreal.

For a while, the gas-lighting industry prospered, and England in particular thrived on exports of gas-making equipment and piping. Gaslights gradually found their way from factories and streets into private homes, where they were in common use by the 1860s. Also, gas-lighting was used in technical institutes, where working people could continue their education at night, and in public halls, where evening meetings encouraged people's participation in politics and other social issues. The gas industry was shocked from its complacency, however, when electric lamps were introduced in the late 1800s. Both the arc lamp and the electric incandescent light bulb threatened the industry's monopoly on the lighting business. Only Carl Auer's timely invention of the gas mantle in 1885 saved gas-lighting from extinction. Auer's incandescent mantle, a cylindrical shell of metal oxides, glowed with a bright white light when placed over a gas flame. Thanks to their better quality of light, gas was able to compete with early electric lamps, which produced a relatively feeble light. In the 1890s, gas companies introduced meters that could be turned on when needed by inserting coins--a sort of pay-as-you-go lighting system. With these meters, working-class families were able to afford gas-lighting, and the number of customers was greatly increased. By comparison, electricity was expensive, and most houses did not yet have access to it. Coal-gas continued to be used for lighting well into the twentieth century. With the development of new gas-burning appliances, coal-gas became a source of heating and cooking as well. In America, coal-gas was replaced to some extent by natural gas, which could be piped at higher pressure over greater distances; however, natural gas was not discovered in Europe until much later. A few original gaslights are still in use in Europe and the United States, mainly as historical curiosities. Recently, American gas utilities have begun to look for new ways to market their product, and gas-lighting is enjoying a small resurgence in popularity as a decorative item. Researchers are developing new gaslights with more durable mantles and higher efficiency.