Lebon, Phillipe (1767–1804)

French engineer who in 1801 became the first person successfully to use ‘artificial’ gas as a means of illumination on a large scale.

Lebon was born in the charcoal-burning town of Bruchay, near Joinville on the Marne. He studied at the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, where he later taught mechanics. He also made some attempts at perfecting the steam engine.

In about 1797, Lebon became interested in extracting gas from wood for heating and lighting purposes. He placed some sawdust in a glass tube and held it over a flame. The gas given off caught alight as it emerged from the tube, but it smoked badly and smelled. Persevering, he patented in 1799 the Thermolampe (heat lamp). For several months in 1801, he exhibited a large version of the lamp in Paris. It attracted huge crowds, but, because he had been unable to eliminate the repulsive odour given off by the gas, the public decided that his invention was not a practical one.

It was left to William Murdoch (working independently at about the same time in Scotland) to succeed where Lebon had failed, and Murdoch has received the credit for the invention of gas lighting.