Neon Lights Paris: Georges Claude Illuminates Night
Georges Claude demonstrated neon lighting at the Paris Motor Show on December 3, 1910, revealing two 38-foot tubes filled with neon gas that glowed with a distinctive orange-red light when electrified. Claude, a French engineer and chemist, had discovered that neon, a byproduct of his liquid air distillation business, produced brilliant light with minimal energy. He patented the technology and began selling neon signs commercially in 1912. The first neon sign in the United States appeared in 1923 at a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles, purchased for $24,000. Las Vegas and Times Square adopted the technology enthusiastically, transforming their skylines into luminous spectacles that became internationally recognizable. Neon signs defined urban nightlife aesthetics for decades before LED technology began replacing them in the 1990s.
December 3, 1910
116 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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