National Museum of American History
1300 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Explosive gases have always been one of the greater dangers faced by coal miners. In 1815, Sir Humphrey Davy of England proved that a flame from burning acetylene gas would not pass through a wire gauze and ignite the methane gas on the outside. The safely lamp of today embodies this basic principle and is the subject of many improvements over the years. See examples of lamps from 1890-1954.
