December 21st is National Flashlight Day

National Flashlight Day is on the same day as Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.

It was around 1899 that the invention of the dry cell and miniature incandescent electric light bulbs made the first battery-powered flashlights possible.

Today the flashlights that we use, are mostly incandescent lamps or light-emitting diodes and run on disposable or rechargeable batteries.  Some are powered by the user turning a drank or shaking the lamp and some have solar panels to recharge a battery.

In addition to the well known, general-purpose hand-held flashlight, other forms have been adapted for special  uses.  Head or helmet-mounted flashlights designed for miners and campers leave the hands free.  There are special flashlights that can be used underwater or in flammable atmospheres.

January 10, 1899 – British Inventor David Misell obtained U.S. Patent No. 617,592, assigned to American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company.  This electric device designed by Misell was powered by “D” batteries laid front to back in a paper tube with the light bulb and a rough brass reflector at the end.  The company donated some of these devices to the New York City police, who responded well to them.