The earliest history of table lamps dates back to about 70,000 BC. The person who was in need of a lamp for more lighting would take a hollow shell or rock and fill it with moss or other materials that were soaked in the fat of animals. Once the rock or shell was packed with the moss it would be lit or ignited.
Right around the 7th Century BC, the Greeks were making terra cotta lights and lamps. The word lamp is actually derived from the Greek language. Lamp as is what the Greeks call the light which means torch.
During the 18th century the central burner was invented. Today we call the central burner the oil lamp. The source of fuel was encased in metal and there was a metal tube to control the amount of fuel and how bright the light was.

The first electric lamp was invented by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1801. The carbon arc lamp was run by hooking up two carbon rods to an electrical source. By having the rods at a certain distance the electricity would arc and cause light.

Sir Joseph Swann and Thomas Edison both invented the first true electric table lamps. It was the lamp invented by Thomas Edison that became the world's first commercially sold lamp in the year 1879. Table lamps have come a long way since then.
 

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