. >> maggie koerth-baker of basic energy and u.s. out next on booktv. .. >> he was literally building a mansion on the hill. he made a decision to go on a fishing trip with a salesman from the edison electric company. at the time comes he had never seen a lightbulb. he actually owned the gaslighting facility in appleton, wisconsin. he came back from that fishing trip the proud owner to license and use this technology. it ended up being the beginning of the end of him as a successful businessman. i like this story because it really goes against the narrative that i think most of us learned when we were in junior high and high school. where thomas edison invents the electric light bulb in 1879 and everything comes together vertically. like electricity solves the problem, everyone just adopted it immediately. the reality is a lot messier than that. the reality is that the incandescent lightbulb was not invented in 1879. it was invented in 1804 by each element named humphrey davies. he became the first prson to run an electric current, h