Peter Cooper HewittBorn 5 May 1861; died 25 Aug 1921 at age 60. American electrical engineer who invented the mercury-vapour lamp, an important forerunner of fluorescent lamps. He studied the production of light using electrical discharges (while Thomas Edison was still developing incandescent filaments). The mercury-filled tubes he developed from the late 1890s, gave off an unattractive blue-green light. Although unsuitable in homes, its brilliance won wide adoption by photo studios because the black and white film of the time needed just bright light, despite its colour. There were many other industrial uses for the lamp. His manufacturing company (est. 1902) was bought by General Electric in 1919 which produced a new design in 1933. He took out his first eight mercury vapour lamp patents on 17 Sep 1901.« |
