As stated by the Franklin Institute, in 1752, Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity. For a .
while he hypothesized that electricity was carried in lightning. First he need to find something he thought the lightning would travel through. He eventually tried a metal key but he needed something to get it closer to the lightning. He tied the key to a childs kite and in June of 1752 the key attracted the lightning and he discovered electricity. (Edisons Light Bulb). When Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, it opened up a window for many new inventions because it could become a major power source for new inventions. Electricity was a primary discovery for Edison and other inventors who tried to create the light bulb as well.
You could argue that Thomas Edison stood on the shoulders of giants. Many inventors before him tried to invent the electric light but failed. Problems with their light bulbs included weak filaments, vacuums, or bulbs. Inventors that tried before. Edisons competitions included William Sawyer, Joseph Swan, and Hiram Maxim. They indirectly gave Edison tips on how to create his own lightbulb by their failures. .
Joseph Swan was one competitor Edison had in inventing the lightbulb. Joseph Swan created a light bulb that had an unrealistic filament in 1879. Montclair University states that Swans light bulb was unrealistic because it would have to work in a series meaning they would have to be on and off at the same time. This was due to his carbon rod filament which produced low electrical resistance. Swan was a big help to Edison in his scientific process to create the light bulb (Who Invented the Twisty Little Bit of Wire Inside the Light Bulb?). Swans invention showed Edisons that using a carbon rod filament was impractical because it had a low resistance. For a light bulb to be commercially practical he would need to be able to create a bulb that could light up singularly with a high resistance filament.
