Discover how Thomas Edison’s team built on past innovations to develop the first successful electric light bulb in this video adapted from Edison | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. While many inventors had patented versions of the most promising technology, an incandescent bulb, no bulb could yet produce light for more than 15 seconds, let alone several hours. Edison used his fame to attract the funding needed for his team to test and prototype a solution. On October 22, 1879, a bulb fitted with a filament of carbonized cotton thread burned in Edison’s laboratory for more than 13.5 hours.