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A Famous Invention Dispute
In Davy vs. Stephenson, two inventors battled over the invention of the Miner's Safety Lamp
Read more articles from the November 2007 issue of InventHelp's newsletter for inventors |
How many times have you watched a commercial for a new toy or a new tool and thought, "That was my idea!"?
They say that great minds think alike, so it's no real surprise that simultaneous discovery is very common in the inventing world. Inventors have a knack for recognizing problems and developing solutions, but what happens when two different inventors come up with the same solution to the same problem?
The answer is, sometimes, a feud. In his book Great Feuds In Technology, author Hal Hellman highlights cases where great new discoveries sparked great intellectual battles.
For example, what started as a noble desire to make coal miners safer on the job ended up dissolving into a nasty feud. This month, InventHelp® explores the invention of the Miner's Safety Lamp, and how two gifted, talented inventors bitterly fought for the glory of it.
Mining today remains a dangerous occupation, and it was even more so before the Miner's Safety Lamp was invented. In addition to the hazards of rock falls and tunnel collapses, miners faced the constant danger of explosions.
As mines started moving deeper in the 19th century, a great problem arose. Methane, which is created as vegetation decays into coal, often collects in chambers for years or even centuries. When a miner's pick would break into a chamber, the gas from the chamber leaked into the miner's airspace. Of course, there was no electricity at the time, so miners relied on candles and oil lamps for lighting. As we all know, an open flame plus an explosive mixture is a recipe for disaster.
Hundreds of miners were killed and thousands more injured during these types of explosions. Naturally, the coal industry's leaders publicly requested help to devise a solution.
Sir Humphry Davy, an accomplished chemist and scientist, seemed like an obvious authority to consult. Davy was already famous for his lectures and scientific discoveries. In fact, he was the inspiration for the character Professor Waldman, Frankenstein's teacher in Mary Shelley's novel.
Being that cell phones and e-mail were far from being invented, it took several years to finally reach Davy and ask him to begin researching a solution. Once he started problem-solving, it took him only three months to come up with the solution – a lamp surrounded with wire gauze, which prevents gas from reaching the flame.
The problem is, during the long hiatus between the publicized requests for help and Davy's resolution, someone else had also come up with a solution.
George Stevenson, the other inventor, was an unknown compared to Davy. He came from a poor family and had little education. Still, he studied basic mechanics on his own and found gainful employment in the railroading industry, where he spent countless time in mines (although he was never officially a miner).
Haunted by the idea of mining explosions, he too began experimenting to create a mining lamp (even, some would argue foolishly, testing the lamps in the mines himself). The result was a very similar design to Davy's lamp, setting the stage for a serious priority dispute.
The contest was uneven, as Stephenson lacked the notoriety and speaking abilities that Davy had. Although Stephenson was hardly well-recognized, he still had a very high opinion of himself. And Davy's smugness prevented him from accepting that a mere commoner could come up with a concept as brilliant as his.
It's not hard to understand both men would want the credit for the safety lamp – it's simply human nature to desire recognition. Ultimately, Davy's lamp became the norm while Stephenson's lamp was used mostly in his home locale. Still, both were recognized as pioneers in mining safety and were well-celebrated by the public and the press.
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