Street Light Technical Information Willis Lamm   STREET LIGHTS: Patents from 1894 through 1899

Patents are an effective way to understand the development of street lighting in the United States. In this section I have posted patents as I located them. (Early patents are difficult to locate as they were not cross-indexed.) All patents are listed in order of their filing dates. Click on the patent number or thumbnail to view the entire patent.

Around 1890 electric street lighting started to dominate. Most street light circuits were high tension series, allowing many lamps to be controlled from a single point. Much of the developments involved devices that would keep the circuit alive if an arc lamp failed or incandescent lamp burned out. Many of these lamps were isolated by autotransformers, however a failed lamp could affect the efficiency of the circuit. Other devices were designed to help protect lineman servicing lamps and changing lamp bulbs. Meanwhile inventors were still designing improvements to natural gas, acetylene and oil burning streetlamps that were still commonly used where electricity was not readily available.

Patent No. 0520232 Filing date: January 2, 1894 Patent date: May 22, 1894 Title: Electric-Arc-Lighting System Inventor: Thomas Spencer Claims: Arc light with more stabilized feeding system.
Patent No. 520996 Filing date: January 9, 1894 Patent date: June 5, 1894 Title: Electric-Arc Lamp Inventor: Louis B. Marks and Clarence Ransom Claims: 110 volt Arc lamp.
Patent No. 519849 Filing date: February 12, 1894 Patent date: May 15, 1894 Title: Alternating Current Arc Lighting System Inventor: Thomas Spencer Claims: Arc lamp designed to operate on alternating current.
Patent No. 521434 Filing date: March 31, 1894 Patent date: June 12, 1894 Title: Duplex Electric-Arc Lamp Inventor: George F. Edens and John B. Brewer Claims: Trip mechanism where one carbon set is consumed first, then the other set engages.
Patent No. 559066 Filing date: April 29, 1895 Patent date: April 29, 1896 Title: Mast-Arm for Electric Lamps Inventor: Joseph J. Schickluna Claims: Mast bracket arm with internal luminaire lowering device.
Patent No. 563922 Filing date: February 19, 1896 Patent date: July 14, 1896 Title: Electric-Lamp Stand Inventor: Wilmer D. Gridley Claims: Stand for lamps for outdoor illumination that cam also accomodate flower pots.
Patent No. 611766 Filing date: March 4, 1898 Patent date: October 4, 1898 Title: Device for Suspending Arc Lamps Inventor: Joseph Borka Claims: Adjustable bracket arm system for suspending arc lamps.
Patent No. 627239 Filing date: March 31, 1898 Patent date: June 20, 1899 Title: Street-Lamp Inventor: Daniel J. Prendergast Assignee: Pennsylvania Globe Gas Light Company Claims: Improved street lamp powered by an oil reservoir.
Patent No. 0636327 Filing date: May 20, 1899, 1899 Patent date: November 7, 1899 Title: Means of Supporting and Bracing Yard-Arms for Arc-Lamps and such Inventor: Herbert C. Wirt Claims: Double guy supported long bracket arm for arc lamps.
Patent No. 634932 Filing date: July 12, 1899, 1899 Patent date: October 17, 1900 Title: Lightning Arrestor for Electric Circuits Inventor: Herbert C. Wirt Assignee: General Electric Company Claims: Lightning arrestor for electric circuits including series lighting circuits.
Patent No. 663768 Filing date: November 27, 1899 Patent date: December 11, 1900 Title: Vapor Burning Lamp Inventor: Gustav A. Loeben Claims: Improvements in oil burning streetlamps where among other things the oil is heated by the lamp flame itself.

Continue to 1900 - 1909

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Please note: This index is a work in progress. If you notice an error or are aware of something that is missing, please feel free to Email me. Thanks!