born March 9, 1856, Washington, Pa., U.S.
died July 6, 1931, New York, N.Y.
U.S. inventor.
He helped develop the incandescent lamp and in 1881 installed the first electric lights for Thomas Alva Edison in Italy, Belgium, and France. Attempting to produce artificial diamonds, he created instead the highly effective abrasive material Carborundum . He later found that the silicon vaporizes from Carborundum at 7,500 °F (4,150 °C), leaving graphitic carbon, and patented his graphite -making process in 1896.