The Linked History of the Flashlight and the Battery

The Linked History of the Flashlight and the Battery The flashlight was invented in 1898 and patented in 1899. The biblical quote let there be light was on the cover of the 1899 Eveready catalog advertising the new flashlight.   Eveready Founder Conrad Hubert In 1888, a Russian immigrant  and inventor named Conrad Hubert founded the  American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company (later renamed Eveready). Huberts company manufactured and  marketed battery-powered novelties. For example, neckties and flower pots that lit up. Batteries were still a novelty at that time, then only recently introduced to the consumer market. David Misell, Inventor of the Flashlight A flashlight by definition is a small, portable lamp usually powered by batteries.  While  Conrad Hubert might have known  the flashlight was a bright idea, it was not his. British inventor David Misell, who was living in New York, patented the original flashlight and sold those patent rights to the Eveready Battery Company. Conrad  Hubert first met Misell  in 1897. Impressed with his work,  Hubert  purchased all of Misells previous patents related to lighting, Misells  workshop, and his then-unfinished invention, the tubular flashlight. Misells patent was  issued on January 10,  1899.  His portable light was  designed in the now familiar tube-shape and used three D batteries  placed in a line, with a lightbulb at one end of the tube.   Success Why  was the flashlight called a flashlight? The first flashlights used batteries that did not last very long. They provided a flash of light, so to speak. However, Conrad  Hubert continued to improve his product and made the flashlight a commercial success. It helped make Hubert a  multi-millionaire, and  Eveready a huge company. Source: Utley, Bill. History of the First Tubular Flashlight. CandlePowerForums, May 20, 2002.