The invention of the lightbulb was a cumulative effort involving multiple inventors over many decades. While Thomas Edison is most famously credited, he was not the sole inventor. Humphry Davy in 1803 created the "carbon arc lamp," which was the first successful demonstration of artificial light using electricity. Later, Warren de la Rue in 1840 made a lightbulb with a coiled platinum filament in a vacuum tube, though it was too costly for commercial use. Joseph Swan in the 1870s developed a practical incandescent lamp with a carbonized filament, which saw some commercial success in England. Edison then improved upon Swan’s design with better filaments and vacuum technology, leading to the first commercially viable incandescent lightbulb. Edison and Swan eventually merged their companies to sell improved bulbs. Other inventors also contributed important developments in materials and designs. Edison became well-known due to his commercial success and patent strategy rather than being the first to invent the lightbulb. The modern tungsten filament lightbulb was developed later in the early 1900s. In summary, the lightbulb was a product of many inventors' work over time, with Edison and Swan prominent in making the practical and commercial versions widely used today.