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The process of Christmas becoming a national holiday in the U.S. began when Representative Burton Chauncey Cook of Illinois introduced a bill in the U.S. Congress after the U.S. Civil War (1861–1865). It passed in both houses of Congress, and President Ulysses S. Grant signed it on June 28, 1870.
Early electric Christmas lights were introduced with electrification, beginning in the 1880s. The illuminated Christmas tree became established in the UK during Queen Victoria's reign, and through emigration spread to North America and Australia. In her journal for Christmas Eve 1832, the 13-year-old princess wrote, "After dinner.. we then went ...
Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to wooden hulls. A fuse could then be used to detonate it. The spar torpedo was invented in 1864 during the American Civil War by E. C. Singer, a private engineer who worked on secret projects for the benefit of the Confederate States of America. [165] 1865 ...
According to The Guardian, Jami Warner, the executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association said that 84 percent of the 94 million people displaying Christmas trees in 2021 were ...
1875 Henry Woodward patents an electric light bulb. 1876 Pavel Yablochkov invents the Yablochkov candle, the first practical carbon arc lamp, for public street lighting in Paris. 1879 (About Christmas time) Col. R. E. Crompton illuminated his home in Porchester Gardens, using a primary battery of Grove Cells, then a generator which was better ...
That year, only 384 of New York City's 5,660 street lamps were gaslights. [1] Chicago turned on its first hundred-odd gaslights on September 4, 1850. [6] Gas light was up to ten times brighter than light from oil lamps, [1] but by present-day standards, the lights appeared "distinctly yellow and not very bright". [6]
It’s not for nothing that people often sing of Christmastime in the city. Between the festive window displays (we’re looking at you, Macy’s on State Street), the hustle and bustle of holiday ...
Miniature lights first came in sets of 35 (3.5 volts per bulb), and sometimes smaller sets of 20 (6 volts per bulb). For a short time, these early miniature lights were manufactured using E5 screw bases, rather than the current wedge base and were called "Italian lights".