Holmes arc lamp from South Foreland Lighthouse, c 1860-1880.
Image number: 10214715
The South Foreland Lighthouse off the Kent coast was the first to have an electric light in 1858. Frederic Hale Holmes was a British engineer, and pioneer of the electrical illumination of lighthouses in Great Britain. Early lighthouses had used wood and coal fires, pitch pots and candle lanterns to warn ships.
- Image number:
- 10214715
- Credit:
- Science Museum/Science & Society Picture Library
- Date taken:
- 20 October 2003 12:10
- Image rights:
- Science Museum
