Albon Man (June 29, 1826 – February 18, 1905) was an American lawyer, scientist, and inventor who was associated with the early technology of the

incandescent light bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxid ...

. He worked with William Edward Sawyer to develop inventions. He was a scientist and came up with ideas for potential inventions that would be useful for commercial products. Sawyer then worked out the mechanics of Man's ideas to make a workable product. Many of these then were patented by them, including the electric light system, which is the cornerstone of modern methods of

electrical distribution Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissi ...

. Man had a law office in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He spent a lot of time litigating against others to defend his patents. There were many legal suits that Man filed against

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

for infringing on his patents, especially the incandescent lamp. The final ruling held that Man and Sawyer had perfected the lamp over a year earlier than Edison. Man was known worldwide as an authority on the principles of electricity and was a friend of

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Westville, New York Westville is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 1,819. Westville is on the northern border of the county, northwest of Malone. History The area was first settled ''cir ...

on June 29, 1826, to Ebenezer Man and an unknown mother. He attended high school in Fort Covington, New York and

Malone, New York Malone ( moh, Tekanatà:ronhwe) is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part ...

, and took

college preparatory course A College preparatory course is a means by which college bound high school students may better meet the more stringent scholastic requirements for entry into colleges and universities. Students taking college-preparatory courses may have an increas ...

s. Man entered

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, in 1845, taking

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

courses. Man graduated in 1849, receiving an honorary degree as a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in July 1892 from the same college. Sawyer electric lamp 205144

Mid life and career

Man was taught law by his uncle, Hugh McCulloch, who lived in

. He was admitted to the bar of New York City in February, 1852, and soon after partnered with his uncle. He returned to Malone in 1853 due to his father's illness. There he established his own law practice and was employed as an engineer with the Northern New York Railroad. He was also a surveyor at the time. Man was elected district attorney of

Franklin County, New York Franklin County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. To the north across the Canada–United States border are the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, from east to west. As of the 2020 census, the county popula ...

, in 1859. Man enlisted as a volunteer in the 98th New York Infantry Regiment unit of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

in 1861 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and became a major. He participated in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Fair Oaks. His health deteriorated due to exposure to the elements during the war and he was forced to resign from the military. He then returned to his home in Franklin County, where he continued as the district attorney. In 1863, Man went to Washington as chief of the Division of Organization in the office of the Controller of the Currency, afterward serving under Hugh McCulloch of the

United States Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

. In 1866 he became treasurer and general manager of the

National Bank Note Company ABCorp is an American corporation providing contract manufacturing and related services to the authentication, payment and secure access business sectors. Its history dates back to 1795 as a secure engraver and printer, and assisting the newl ...

of New York City. Resuming the practice of law in 1871, he became general manager and agent of the Lorillard estates of New York City and stayed in that position until 1883. In 1878, Man became involved with William E. Sawyer in electrical inventions. He would come up with ideas and Sawyer would work out how to implement them. One of their inventions was the

incandescent bulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxid ...

(later known as the Sawyer-Man lamp), which was the first practical electric light bulb. The lamp consisted of a carbon filament in a vacuum. It was first demonstrated to the public by the Electro-Dynamic Light Company in New York City on October 29, 1878. The newly invented electric lamp was touted as being able to save people a considerable amount of money over the

gas lamps Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...

then used. A large New England mill ordered 200 of the Sawyer-Man bulbs that were estimated to cost $10 a year in electricity usage, whereas their current gas lamp system cost $4,000 a year for gas. Another invention Man made with Sawyer was a measurer of the amount of electricity consumed. Man, with Sawyer, Hugh McCulloch,

William Hercules Hays William Hercules Hays (August 26, 1820 – March 7, 1880) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kentucky. Education and career Born in Washington County, Kentucky, Hays read law in 1845. H ...

, James P. Kernochan, Lawrence Meyers, and Jacob Hays formed the Electro-Dynamic Light Company of New York in July 1878. This was the first electric-lighting company formally formed. Man and Sawyer devised the first practical system of incandescent lighting with their related patents. He then became interested in other electrical devices, of which the patent innovations were needed by the public. In patent number 205,305, Sawyer and Man arranged electric light bulbs in parallel with the electric generator ("j") and in combination with each other, which may be regarded as the cornerstone of modern methods of electrical distribution through main feeder lines ("k"). This is the regulation of the production of electricity at its source so as to supply the exact quantity needed for the number of light bulbs to light up at any one time. It follows that when the incandescent lights ("Q") are arranged in a series-parallel fashion, if the proper quantity of electricity is supplied it will distribute itself equally among the total number of electrical light bulbs and therefore a constant illumination will be maintained in every part of the system of branch lines ("n" & "p"). Man had a law office in the Morris Building on Broad Street in New York City. In the early 1880s, Man spent most of his time on lawsuits related to defending his patents on

and electric lighting. The patent rights to the incandescent lamp were finally settled against Edison and for Sawyer's invention with Man. By 1885, all appeals had been dismissed and Edison's claims were disallowed by the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Patents. The final ruling held that Sawyer and Man had perfected their invention in March 1878, while Edison had not finished his until October 1879. Sawyer & Man patent claims continued to clash with Edison's in court, with an 1895 ruling favoring Edison's research into a specific

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

cultivar for use as bulb filament, voiding the Sawyer & Man claim to ''all'' textile material used within the bulb.

Later life and death

Man died of a

paralytic stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop function ...

on February 18, 1905. He was buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone. His obituary mentions that he conceived and created the hydroelectric power plant at

Massena, New York Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12 ...

. He was known throughout the scientific world as an authority on the principles of electricity and was a friend of

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

1826 births 1905 deaths Union College (New York) alumni People from Franklin County, New York