Most history books have kept us in the dark about who actually invented the lightbulb. Thomas Edison typically stands in the spotlight as the sole creator, and while he certainly played a big role in setting our world aglow, it was not really his own bright idea.

In fact, many hands made light work. At least 20 inventors achieved significant advancements toward the creation of the incandescent bulb prior to 1880 — the year Edison got the patent for his “electric lamp.” But as with all legal documents, you have to read the fine print — a task made much easier now that we have lightbulbs. As it happens, Edison’s patent was for improving the lightbulb, not for inventing it.

Edison built on the work of others, which is still quite an accomplishment, but it would have been more admirable if he hadn’t tried to take full credit for expunging the darkness with electric light. When Edison famously told a reporter that, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps,” he neglected to mention that not all of those steps were his.

Others who made meaningful contributions include Alessandro Volta, an Italian chemist and physicist who in 1800 made artificial light with a glowing copper wire. Volta, who called his invention a voltaic pile, is the reason the unit of measure for an electric current is called a “volt” and not an “edison.” In 1802, Humphrey Davy, a British poet, painter, and inventor, used the voltaic pile to create an electric arc lamp. But just like a tragic character in one of his poems, his electric light burned too brightly for this world and quickly fizzled out. Davy also invented laughing gas, which may have cheered him up a bit after his electric lamp didn’t set the world on fire.

During the next few decades, others tried and failed, but each unsuccessful attempt helped light the way for the next experiment. In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue thought he found the light, but his incandescent bulb used platinum and was thus too costly to market.

Joseph Swan, a British physicist, used a more fiscally feasible carbonized paper filament, rather than platinum, in his 1850 version of the lightbulb. It wasn’t, however, made in a vacuum — literally — and he discovered that a reliable vacuum pump was required to make the light last.

Fortunately, Herman Sprengel, a German chemist, invented the necessary vacuum pump, enabling others to exclaim, “Let there be light!” and have that light last for more than a few hours.

Swan patented his new incandescent electric lamp, complete with Sprengel pump, at about the same time as Edison patented his, causing a flurry of lawsuits that were finally settled when the two inventors agreed to merge companies. However, two Canadians, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans, created and patented a very promising electric lamp in 1874, long before the Swan or Edison patents were filed. Unfortunately, while Woodward and Evans may have been geniuses in the lab, they were less bright when it came to marketing and were unable to successfully sell their product.

In stepped Edison — a man who could market. He bought the patent from Woodward and Evans, made improvements on the design, and in 1880, founded the Edison Electric Light Company, which began successfully marketing the lightbulb worldwide. Edison may not have invented the lightbulb by himself, but he did accumulate more than 1,000 patents before his death in 1931. He is credited with the invention of wax paper, the record player, and the motion picture camera, all of which he got the patent for and none of which he actually invented.

Wax paper was invented by Gustave Le Gray in 1851, and the record player was invented by Emile Berliner in 1887. To his credit, Edison did invent a phonograph that recorded sound, which he later inserted into dolls so they would “talk.” Unfortunately, the dolls were deemed overpriced and creepy; Edison only sold 500 of these, in his words, “little monsters.”

As for the motion picture camera, a French artist, Louis Le Prince, is thought to be the actual creator, although it was Edison who secured the patent. Sadly, Le Prince was on his way to America, planning to patent and market his camera, when he disappeared from a train, along with his luggage, and was never seen or heard from again.

None of the Edison controversy, however, dims the importance of sustainable artificial light, a concept that is unquestionably one of the greatest collaboratory “lightbulb moments” in history. And the phrase “lightbulb moment”? It was sparked by Felix the Cat, an early 1900s cartoon character who was the first to have a lightbulb appear over his head when he got a bright idea.

Without the invention of the lightbulb, we would all still be stumbling around in the dark, bereft of nightlights, a safe passage to the bathroom, and those dad-joke favorites:

“How many Paul Reveres does it take to change a lightbulb?”

  One, if by land and two if by sea.

“How many optometrists does it take to change a lightbulb?”

  One or two? One…or two?

“How many therapists does it take to change a lightbulb?”

  None. The lightbulb has to want to change.

“How many hipsters does it take to change a lightbulb?”

  It’s a very obscure number, you probably wouldn’t have heard of it.

And finally, “How many mothers does it take to change a lightbulb?”

  None, sweetie. I’ll just sit here in the dark. Now go to bed. Lights out.