The first name that comes to mind when the "father of the light bulb" is mentioned is the great inventor Thomas Edison. However, Thomas Edison did not invent the device called "incandescent bulb/lamp". He developed it and made it usable.
The invention of the first working (but not very functional) light bulb in human history goes back to the Italian inventor Alessandro Volta in 1800. Yes, the famous scientist who gave his name to the electric potential you know as "voltage" or "volt"... Volta succeeded in producing the first incandescent lamp using moving zinc and copper discs. However, Volta did not go further on this issue. Rather, it chose to manufacture the devices we know today as "battery" or "battery".
After him comes the English inventor Humphrey Davy. Davy succeeded in producing the first functional light bulb in human history in 1802. Using Volta's batteries, Davy produced the first incandescent lamp using electrodes from coal. Unfortunately, this is not a functional enough lamp to be used commercially. Because it fades very quickly. Still, Davy's designs were the light bulb designs that marked the 1800s.
The history of the light bulb would not be complete without mentioning Warren de la Rue, a British inventor in 1840. Rue, who produced the first efficient light bulb in history, had to resort to an extremely expensive material such as platinum. For this reason, it never achieved commercial success.
The one who solved all these problems... No, not Edison. No, not Tesla either... In 1850 he became an English chemist named Joseph Swan. By using carbonized paper filaments, Swan has significantly extended the lifespan of its predecessors. But Swan's trouble was that he used a vacuum pump. Vacuum pumps at that time were so inefficient that overall bulb efficiency still remained very low. Therefore, Swan could not become the "father of the light bulb".
In fact, Charles Francis Brush's high-quality vacuum pumps would have contributed to Swan. However, Brush chose to manufacture its own lamps. He produced lamps that were so bright that his designs began to be used in places that required a high amount of light, such as street lamps. Brush used dynamos (electric generators) in his designs. Just as Edison would have done... So Brush came very close to becoming the "father of the light bulb".
In 1874, Canadian inventors Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans filed a patent for the electric lamp. Their design was based on carbon rods of various sizes held between electrodes in a nitrogen-filled container. Although the duo produced the first commercial lamps in history... However, they could not make their voices heard.
This is what detonated the Edison bomb in 1879. Working in his laboratories in Menlo Park, Edison applied for the patent for the first commercially successful electric lamps using carbon filaments. Edison devoted a significant part of his life to finding the best filament to use in his lamps. Over 6,000 attempts were made during these investigations!
Later in 1879, the patent was granted to Edison. Around the same time, Edison discovered that the best filament was carbonized bamboo filament. This filament could burn for more than 1200 hours. Until further improvements in the 1900s, Edison's lamps and bamboo filaments were used almost all over the world.
Later, tungsten filaments were developed with the work of William David Coolidge of General Electric. Although these significantly increased the life of the bulb, they were very difficult to manufacture at that time. However, tungsten is still the main bulb filament material today.
Edison's successful, practical and long-lasting light bulbs have created a tremendous reputation and success for Edison. Among Tesla's financial resources, J.P. Edison Electric Lighting Company, which was established with the contributions of Morgan and other important investors, became one of the most popular, successful and wealthy companies in the world.
Today, these bulbs are slowly dying. Rather, fluorescents (especially CFL technology) and LED lamps, on which Tesla has worked for many years, are becoming the dominant light technologies.
However, the inventor of the light bulb was not Thomas Edison. It was Thomas Edison who made the light bulb practical. It would be unfair to mention only Edison and not to include other valuable inventors on this difficult road.