it was invented in 1804 by each element named humphrey davies. he became the first prson to run an electric current, heating the wire up to the point where it began to glow and produce light. he is better known as a chemist, but he is also the guy who created the incandescent light. between humphrey davies and thomas edison, you have so many years of tinkering around with this technology that was never quite ready for technology. even by the time that h.j. rogers came around in 1882, electricity was not a sure thing. it is important to know because we are in the middle of these energy crises. we have climate change bearing down on us and limited amounts of fossil fuels. we have infrastructure that has not been updated in 30 years. all of those things are going to require technology to solve our problems. at the same time, we like to tell ourselves stories about technology that don't match up with reality. we like to talk about times where one guy had one idea and it completely changed the world. that is really not what success normally looks like